Goya Dmytryshchak
Hobsons Bay council has released its $31 million draft Coastal and Marine Management Plan for community feedback.
The plan will guide the management of coastal and marine areas over the next 10 years, including actions to protect the coastline from erosion and storm surge.
Hobsons Bay’s foreshore extends for more than 20 kilometres and its management is a shared responsibility between the council and other agencies. These include the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, Parks Victoria, Melbourne Water and Port of Melbourne, in consultation with the Traditional Owners.
Planned projects include risk assessments of coastal infrastructure to determine if it can cope with changes in sea level and either maintaining, upgrading or replacing ageing infrastructure.
Short-term priorities will cost $22 million over the next two years and total $31 million over the next six to 10 years.
Cr Peter Hemphill told last week’s council meeting that funding the plan was “probably the most important part of this whole document”.
“We should acknowledge that we can only do this with the help of both the state and federal government,” he said.
“It’s important to point out that a lot of the land where this work will happen is actually Crown land and we’re committee of management for it.
“We’ve just got to be careful now that we’re in a rate-capped environment where we spend our money and it should be on the things that people expect us to spend their money on, and we should expect that the state government and the Commonwealth government put their hands in their pocket as well because I think a lot of it will fall into their, or should fall into their, bailiwick.”
Community drop-in sessions to view and discuss the plan will be held on: Thursday, March 25, from 4-6pm, at 100 Steps of Federation (Truganina Park), Altona Meadows; Sunday, March 28, from 9-11am, at Weaver Reserve, Altona; and Sunday, March 28, from12-2pm, at Hatt Reserve, Williamstown.
People can also visit participate.hobsonsbay.vic.gov.au/cmmp or scan a QR code along signage along Hobsons Bay’s coastline to take part in an online survey.
The plan is on public exhibition until April 11.
