Mordialloc Beaumaris Conservation League – Minutes – 7th February 2024

Kingston Council Update (Foreshore & Bushland)

Representative to attend quarterly.
Question for Council Rep. Are the trees planted new or replacement/new?

Mordialloc Railway precinct

On the agenda for Environment and Open Spaces Strategic Advisory Committee this Thursday 8th
Questions – Could the access to Station St be built be designed to go where SCOPE is now? And therefore save Groves Reserve.
What trees are going to be replaced along Como Pd, Parkdale?
Where is the bike path going?

Aquatic Centre

Nina is concerned about night lighting and its effect on wildlife. Is there anything we can do to help her?

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Mordialloc Beaumaris Conservation League – Minutes – 23rd February 2023

Kingston Council Update

Dents Paddock

Waiting for options about renaming of park. Lee James will be starting a Friends Group

Groves Reserve (SCOPE)

Regarding the large scale removal of trees from the site. Adrian Hyland looked into it. This is Crown Land under lease. Council will be issuing an infringement notice as no permit was given for removal of trees. Will they be required to replace 3 for each one lost?

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Mordialloc Beaumaris Conservation League – Minutes – 5th October 2022

Correspondence

Adrian from Kingston Council
Grange newsletter
Mordialloc Creek Community update
Dredging of Creek is being called for

Bradshaw Bushland Reserve

Meeting with Level Crossing Removal Project for Parkdale in October.

Dents Reserve

Park naming postponed.

Port Phillip Conservation Council

Concerns over Jet skis.
Annual General Meeting on Wednesday 17th at 7pm at the Chelsea Community Centre. Kathleen McKinnis will speak on Port Phillip tidal movements and erosion.

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Mordialloc Beaumaris Conservation League – Minutes – 13th July 2022

Correspondence

Grange Newsletter.
Brad Lewis Report (Adrian Hyland).
Port Phillip Conservation Council.

Green Wedge

Green Wedge Coalition met with Greens. Waiting for Planning for Melbourne’s Green Wedge and Agricultural land to be released. It is 12 months overdue.

Pompei Development site

Hearing on July 19th. To determine what the developers will need to do to retain some heritage of the site.

Peter Scullin & Hazel Pierce Reserves

The Rainbow Sculpture has had mixed responses from the community.

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Mordialloc Beaumaris Conservation League – Newsletter – October 2020

Council Elections

Hopefully more information will be provided about who is standing in each of Kingston’s eleven wards with one councillor in each ward. Voting will be postal. There are some important issues for new councillors to consider and hopefully make decisions that are not environmentally harmful. Some of these issues are listed below.

Dent’s Paddock

After a long campaign people were pleased with Council’s decision to buy the land for much needed open space. But it is disturbing to find that a potential councillor is querying that decision, claiming that the money should be spent elsewhere, rather than saving the remnant indigenous plants, trees and open space provided at Tarella Road.

Mordialloc Creek Community Meeting

This was a Zoom meeting which one of our members was able to view and has given us a detailed report on the issues. One of the issues is that spoil from future dredging will be deposited in the dredge spoil grounds in Port Phillip Bay when the POM does their dredging in late 2021. Another topic discussed was the wetlands. They are considered a priority by Melbourne Water but the program still lacks funds. It may start sometime in 2021. The new Mordialloc Creek Master Plan should be released in the next few weeks. More car parking is planned in Attenborough Park to cater for boat owners. However there is no launching ramp on that side of the creek and car parking will be limited on the Pompei site, if the four storey apartment block goes ahead. Two MBCL members continue to attend “virtual” VCAT meetings about the Pompei site.
Construction of new pontoons for Mordialloc Creek upstream and adding a change room facility to the George Woods Reserve are two works estimated to begin in the New Year. Groups of people will be collecting rubbish alongside the creek, as funding was provided to help people laid off work in other areas.

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Mordialloc Beaumaris Conservation League – Newsletter – September 2020

Dent’s Paddock

GOOD NEWS!! It is not often that conservationists win battles in their attempts to protect precious remnants of the environment but this month it was announced that Kingston Council bought 19 Tarella Road! It is a remnant of original bushland undeveloped despite the suburbanisation taking place around it.  It will provide much needed open space for Chelsea and Edithvale suburbs which are short of an area like this for non-sporting types to enjoy. 

Alex Fraser Recycling Facility

The hearing was conducted virtually which meant that submitters didn’t need to trek into Kings Street. We are now awaiting Planning Minister Wynne’s response to the need to remove this industry out of Kingston’s Green Wedge and into an industrial  zone where facilities such this belong. 

Pier Road Toilet Block and George Woods Reserve

The pier road toilet block is to go ahead which is unfortunate because it will dominate and block views of the approach to Mordialloc pier/ promenade area. Work is also to commence in the George Woods Reserve with extensions to the Mordialloc Scout Hall to provide a storage area for the 5th Mordialloc Sea Scouts’ boats.

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Mordialloc Beaumaris Conservation League – Newsletter – June 2020

Kingston Housing Strategy & Neighbourhood Character Strategy

Kingston Housing Strategy & Neighbourhood Character Strategy will involve higher density housing meaning loss of trees and gardens. This appears to conflict with Creating a Cool Kingston- Urban Cooling Strategy which stresses the importance of trees in developments to reduce the heat island effect. The higher density housing strategy will also impinge on the Mordialloc Heritage Overlay. A submission has been presented to Council requesting that   heritage housing in Ormond Street and surrounding streets be considered for an extended heritage overlay.

Governor Road Car Park and Pontoons

Better Boating, a State Government project will see the upgrade of the Governor Road boat pontoons in Mordialloc Creek as well as a pontoon south of the highway bridge for disability access.

There may also be a one metre boundary increase around the car park in Governor Road.

Toilet Pier Road, Mordialloc

This tall, silo shaped building will dominate the Art Deco lamps along the promenade and Art Deco buildings on the Peter Scullin Reserve. Request for information from council resulted in a noncommittal response.

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Mordialloc Beaumaris Conservation League – Minutes – 5th February 2020

Correspondence

Comment made that people want action on climate change so a letter to be sent to a local paper in support of action being taken by Government. This was done.

Dent’s Paddock Development

A VCAT Hearing in May.Issues arising are the proposed location of offsets after removal of vegetation on the site. a request that some of the $7 million offered by Government for the purchase of open space be spent on purchasing this site. There is a shortage of open space in Chelsea and Edithvale.

Road the Bay Trail

A careful watch on work being undertaken along Beach Road by a MBCL member reports that construction appears to be progressing according to the plans approved by Council. While Kingston Council’s plan for the trail from Mordialloc Creek to Carrum proposes to use the Long Beach Trail, LXRA plans to build a bike trail along the Station Street side of the rail line. This will mean removing all existing Banksia Woodland along the rail line. This route is not necessary because there is an existing bike track along the opposite side of Station Street.

Braeside Park Survey

Activities being suggested in this survey include festivals, food outlets, camping, dogs, etc. Such activities would require lighting, increased parking space and noise thus creating disturbance for the flora and fauna which is a feature of Braeside Park.

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Mordialloc Beaumaris Conservation League – Minutes – 4th September 2019

MBCL 50th Anniversary

MBCL 50th anniversary was attended by 30 former and current members. It was great to see some of the original members who had established MBCL in 1969 and later Port Phillip Conservation Council with a view to protecting the foreshore around Port Phillip Bay and the creeks that flow into it. When some of the original meeting reports were checked for display it was found that in a 1972 report the EPA was concerned about pollution in Mordialloc Creek and debated whether the creek banks should be concrete lined. When the Dandenong Valley Authority decided to do just that MBCL president, Dr Len Warren and secretary,Mara Hayler where able to convince Mordialloc Council to oppose that option. The Metropolitan Board of Works then stepped in, retained the earthern banks, phragmitie reeds to clean the water and the indigenous Maleluccas on the creek banks banks. This area has become a popular bird habitat.

Mordialloc Creek

While it was interesting to re-read the 1972 Environment Protection Authority (EPA) report on the creek it is concerning that there is still pollution problems with drains flowing into the creek. For instance PFAS has been found in Dunlop Drain. This drain flows close to the Moorabbin airport which would have this highly polluting substance stored on hand since it is used for fighting fires. Expanding industrial businesses at Braeside have been found responsible for, and fined, for depositing plastic in either Heatherton or Settlement Drain which flows into the creek.

Dent’s Paddock

This is the last remaining block of remnant coastal vegetation in Chelsea . The proposal to develop will cause the removal of most of the vegetation and thus destroy the ecological value of the site. This lovely green space will be lost when only 23 trees out of 203 existing trees will be retained if the development proceeds. Development is causing the loss of trees and gardens throughout Kingston. It is claimed that all metropolitan suburbs should have at least 30% tree coverage to ameliorate climate crisis however the City of Kingston has only 14% coverage and continues to lose more trees through level crossing removals…30 lovely red flowering gums along the rail line between Mentone and Parkdale stations were removed to provide car parking spaces.

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Mordialloc Beaumaris Conservation League – Minutes – 5th June 2019

Mordialloc Creek Community Meeting

Travis reports on the number of plastic bottles found in the creek as well polystyrene which is a problem because it breaks into little pieces. Clare refers to a kit available to log rubbish and identify its source as it flows from drains into the creek and Bay

Dent’s Paddock

Clare reported that a developer wants to build 9 units on this site which will mean if the development proceeds only 20 trees will remain on the site where there are now approx 180 trees. The developer will need a permit to cut down 180 trees.

Greening Kingston

Greening Kingston with urban forests is one of Kingston Council’s policies. Unfortunately as more suburban houses and gardens are destroyed to make way for development trees are. A wonderful Eucalypt in Chelsea Heights growing in the nature strip is likely to be cut down because residents are afraid branches may fall although it is a healthy tree.

Banksia Boulevarde Beach Road Mordialloc

Still some indecision concerning what sort of tree to plant along Beach Road after the Bay Trail is completed. Vic Roads is not happy about Banksias and a small number of Beach Road residents noisily claim that they want views and not trees.

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