QUICK thinking by a retired police officer saved a seven-year-old boy’s life at Frankston Beach on Christmas Day 2022. Paul Weller was spending Christmas at the beach with his partner and child when he spotted what looked like a plastic bag in the water. Upon closer inspection, Weller realized that a young boy was drowning.“The beach was choc-a-block and the water was flat as a pancake. I was looking in the water, and I saw what I thought was a plastic bag about 45 metres from shore. I walked about 10 metres in when I realized it was a person…
Author: Brodie Cowburn
HASTINGS FNC has appointed a new senior coach. Hastings is looking to bounce back after a tumultuous 2024. Financial issues at the Hastings Club have put the football club in a tenuous position, and its seniors side recorded just three wins for the year in Division Two.Last week, the club announced it had appointed Kevin Lylak as its new senior coach. In a statement, the club said Lylak had signed on for 2025 “and beyond”. “We are super excited for the experience and leadership Kev will bring to our young exciting list. Please join us in welcoming Kevin, his wife…
EIGHT people have died at Mornington Peninsula beaches and waterways over the last year. There were more deaths in Mornington Peninsula coastal areas between 1 July 2023 and 30 June 2024 than there were in any other Victorian municipality. Surf Life Saving Australia’s annual National Coastal Safety Report, released last week, showed that eight people died on the Mornington Peninsula in that timeframe.In total, Surf Life Saving Australia recorded 258 coastal deaths nationally in 2023/2024. 150 died from drowning, with 26 of those drownings occurring in Victoria. More than 80 per cent of drowning victims nationally were male, and every…
AFTER more than two years of development, new height limits in Frankston’s city centre have been sent to the planning minister for final approval. Frankston Council has been working on its FMAC Structure Plan since 2022. The plan and its associated planning scheme amendment C160fran will set maximum preferred height limits of up to 16 storeys in parts of Frankston’s city centre.After an independent planning panel approved most of the proposed changes late last month, Frankston Council has finalised the plan. Councillors approved it at a 16 September meeting, a day before entering caretaker mode, and the matter is now…
KINGSTON Council says it is assembling a team of “experts” to shape future state government-led planning changes.Kingston mayor Jenna Davey-Burns says that with the state government moving ahead with the suburban rail loop project and its ambitious housing targets, councils must ensure that future planning changes represent the best interests of the community.The Suburban Rail Loop Authority is working on a structure plan to cover Cheltenham, Highett and Clayton. Community submissions will be accepted once the plan is released next year. Davey-Burns said that council anticipates that building height limits will increase in those areas, and that “with this in…