Council supports tower move

|

Council supports tower move

THE Bass Coast Shire Council will support the Inverloch Surf Life Saving Club to move its observation tower 60 metres down the beach.

At the November ordinary council meeting, councillor Julian Brown put forward a motion in urgent business to support the life saving club, which was carried unanimously.

The motion state the council will support the club “through the statutory approval process required to move the observation tower to a new location on new footings, designed for the changing coastal landscape and for minimal impact of vegetation at the beach end of the new track to the Inverloch surf beach”.

Cr Brown said the Inverloch Surf Life Saving Club’s tower at the surf beach has been significantly impacted by erosion over the past 10 months.

He said sand has been displaced from around the base of the tower, exposing its footings.

“This has had an impact on tower safety. The club was recently given a building notice which has been appealed with the hearing date set for December 1,” he said.

Cr Les Larke said he wanted to support the community and the Inverloch Surf Life Saving Club without putting people at risk.

“It is important to have the tower operational for the upcoming visitation period,” he said.

“This (motion) is a satisfactory outcome if the surf life saving club loses its building order appeal.”

Cr Brown said the motion he put forward was not seeking any funding from the council.

“The cost will be discussed between the club and the council going forward. Significant money has already gone into building the current tower,” he said.

Cr Brown said his motion called for a permanent relocation of the tower, which would only require the tower to be moved once, rather than a temporary move.

“The proposed location is around 60 metres from its current location,” he said.

Cr Bruce Kent said the surf life saving club supports a lot of young people who volunteer for the organisation.

“I have seen firsthand what those young people go through…there has never been a death between the flags,” he said.

“It is important surf life saving clubs are well equipped and the tower is an important tool for them, as a community we should be supplying that tool.”

Cr Brown said it is important the club, councillors and council officers work together to get a good outcome.

“Engagement is very important,” he said.

 

Short URL: /?p=20119

Posted by on Nov 29 2016. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

Share your love
Facebook
Twitter

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *