A COUNCIL plan to manage Kingston’s foreshore has been changed after state government intervention over a council attempt to “protect private bay views” from tree plantings.
Mordialloc Labor MP Tim Richardson asked Environment Minister Lisa Neville to intervene after Mr Richardson became concerned that an updated Coastal Management Plan by Kingston Council submitted to the state government was at odds with state coastal strategy.
Mr Richardson noted council regarded “the impact of foreshore vegetation on private bay views” as “a hot topic” and had amended its Coastal Management Plan to cease planting coastal banksia trees along Kingston’s foreshore.
In parliament earlier this month Mr Richardson said: “In the nine months I have been the member for Mordialloc, and during the three years or over 1300 days that I was an adviser to the federal member for Isaacs [Mark Dreyfus], I have never, ever received an inquiry about vegetation and its alleged impacts upon bay views.”
The Labor MP said foreshore vegetation “plays an important part in stabilising the dunes” and tree planting is a vital part of protecting Kingston’s coastline.
“There is no evidence or justification put forward as to what the effect would be on the environment or how this [banksia tree planting] might exasperate erosion of the sensitive sand dunes along the foreshore.”
Council confirmed its coastal management plan had been changed.
Council’s city assets and environment general manager Daniel Freer said council acknowledged “low-storey plantings are highly effective in binding our foreshore dunes”.
“Following discussions with the Minister’s department, Kingston Council’s coastal management plan now states that natural regeneration of the existing coastal banksia and black she-oak trees will be promoted and new plantings considered in cases of environmental vandalism,” Mr Freer said.
The community group Beachside Residents In Kingston Association, which includes several foreshore homeowners, has lobbied for council to stop planting banksia trees so bay views are not obscured.
BRIKA treasurer Barry Coates welcomed council’s move to stop planting new banksia trees but said the Coastal Management Plan still does not address the group’s concerns about coastal banksia trees being “highly flammable”.
“We want the council to declare the coastal area to be a bushfire zone because of the number of bushfires that occurred last year to allow us to clear away vegetation away from fences and houses along the foreshore,” he said.
“That’s the most important point other than the fact … they totally block out any views that people bought 20 years ago.”
He said homeowners are dismayed it is no longer permissible to prune coastal banksia trees along Kingston’s foreshore.
Environment Minister Lisa Neville confirmed she had asked council to remove any reference to “private bay views” in its Coastal Management Plan.
“We want to ensure the plan is in line with the Victorian Coastal Strategy that acts to ensure the protection of ecological values of a foreshore which sees the plantation of vegetation used as a defence for the impacts of sea level rises and planning for access to the coast so that it protects natural values,” she said.
Kingston mayor Cr Geoff Gledhill and Cr David Eden were members of BRIKA before being elected to council.
There is no suggestion their previous membership of the community group influenced council’s latest Coastal Management Plan.
First published in the Chelsea Mordialloc Mentone News – 16 September 2015
