EAGER foreshore campers got a shock last week when Mornington Peninsula Shire pulled the pin on this year’s holidays. The shire emailed those with bookings at its Rosebud, Rye and Sorrento campgrounds on Wednesday night (4 November) notifying them of its decision to postpone camping until February. The 1136 campsites were expected to be available from the last weekend of October, in time for the Melbourne Cup weekend, until April. But a council risk assessment concluded it could not safely go ahead. Mornington Peninsula Shire CEO John Baker said the postponement was the “right decision with restrictions still in place…
Author: Stephen Taylor
A GROUP of Peninsula Grammar students are determined to keep themselves active and involved in making jumps for their bikes – despite Mornington Peninsula Shire confirming their actions contravene local laws. A group of grade 5 boys has written to The Times after reading about other boys building bike jumps at Mountain View park, Mount Eliza. Fintan O’Dea, Angus Donges, Jack French and Ethan Drummond want the shire to understand their needs and let them continue making the jumps as a way of “letting off steam” and allowing them to stay active outdoors. Ethan’s mum Donna Drummond said she felt…
ELDER abuse, an insidious stablemate of family violence, is rampant on the Mornington Peninsula during these strained days of COVID-19. With Victoria’s second highest population of elderly people, the peninsula has the highest number of police callouts per capita for family violence in metropolitan Melbourne. Data presented to Peninsula Health shows family violence presentations to emergency departments and inpatient settings have increased 88 per cent in the past year. Similarly, elder abuse presentations are up 59 per cent. Statistics suggests that at least 10 per cent of those living on the peninsula aged over 65 are at risk of, or…
FRANKSTON Council is one of 13 councils representing two million residents in Melbourne’s east and south east lobbying for more social housing to “end homelessness”. The 13 councils, supported by Eastern Affordable Housing Alliance, Municipal Association of Victoria, Eastern Region Group of Councils and the Department of Health and Human Services, say they want more housing as the “first step towards addressing the often complex social and health needs of the region’s most vulnerable community members”. Providing a safe home first, as part of a broader social housing framework, is the way to stem the increase in homelessness, they say.…
RYMAN Healthcare will appeal against Mornington Peninsula Shire Council’s rejection of its plans to build a residential aged care and retirement village in Kunyung Road, Mount Eliza. The New Zealand-based company said after its failed application that it would take its case to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal. Victorian development manager David Laing said: “We were not surprised by the decision as councillors and staff had foreshadowed their opposition to the proposal, and we intend to take an appeal to VCAT. “As we’ve done from the outset, we’re constantly reviewing the community feedback on our plans and will consider…