MORE than 150 community members have rallied in solidarity to support a popular beachside sauna following Kingston Council’s decision not to extend its lease.
The peaceful protest took place on 14 October at Seasoul Sauna, which is situated in the rear car park of the Mordialloc Sailing Club as part of a sublease agreement.
The business’ founder, Amy Salisbury, named Kingston’s Woman of the Year last year, has been fighting to keep her small business alive as it faces closure on 2 December after the council refused to renew the lease. The business was operating under an 11-month trial, which ended in June, with a five-month extension granted. The sauna itself is a modest two-by-two-metre mobile unit catering up to six people. Despite its size, it has become a beloved wellness foreshore destination.
At the protest, supporters carried handmade placards with messages such as “Save our sauna”, “Kingston Council: Please listen to your 1930 community voices”, “Tell us the truth”, and “Don’t silence Seasoul” with other attendees speaking in front of the crowd about the sauna’s huge benefits, particularly promoting health and connection. An online petition has also attracted 1951 signatures.
Despite the strong turnout and vocal community backing, Seasoul’s future still remains in doubt with the council standing by its decision. The Mordialloc Sailing Club, itself a tenant of Kingston Council, is understood to be highly supportive of the business becoming a permanent fixture.
But according to a council letter sent to Salisbury explaining the lease refusal, it said “officers have been considering the broader implications of this type of sublease arrangement beyond this subtenant” and have “identified the need to now work in collaboration with Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) to develop a framework to guide how, and if, commercial use of foreshore land may be considered in the future”.
Salisbury, who has been left devastated by the move, said she had made multiple attempts with the council which had gone unanswered including with mayor Georgina Oxley. The only meeting granted, she said, was with the council’s planning and place general manager Jonathan Guttmann, which she described as unproductive.
“For a council that’s let me down this much I feel proud to at least be in a community that is rallying behind something like this,” Salisbury said. “In just 12 months since opening thousands of community members have come to love the combination of the sauna and sea and experienced significant benefits to their physical and mental health – surely that’s by far the most important consideration here.”
The News contacted the mayor last week in which she said she would “follow up further” on what conversations had been held between Salisbury at an “officer level”. A Kingston Council spokesperson said “Seasoul Sauna was only ever offered an 11-month trial which has now ended. It is simply not true to claim they have been closed – the agreed time simply finished, and an extension was never discussed let alone guaranteed”.
“While some community members supported the business during the trial, it also attracted community complaints. “Private businesses do not have a right to operate on our fragile foreshore environment; this is governed by DEECA.
“Council has been in contact on multiple occasions with the Sailing Club lease holder, Seasoul and Seasoul’s advocate to offer help to find an alternative location to the foreshore and even granted Seasoul a five-month extension as part of this.”
Consumer advocate Adam Glezer from Consumer Champion said he was “committed to holding the council accountable and demanding transparency around their decision not to extend Amy’s lease”.
“The whole point of a trial is to assess success, and by every measure, this has been an overwhelming success,” he said.
“I’ve never witnessed such a strong and vocal turnout for a small business. It speaks volumes about Amy’s character and the positive impact her sauna has on the community’s wellbeing. “If the council and mayor’s office have no explanation and nothing meaningful to say, that silence only reflects poorly on those responsible.”
First published in the Chelsea Mordialloc Mentone News – 22 October 2025
