WORK will begin early next year to fix a collapsed path leading down the cliff to the northern end of Mills Beach, Mornington.
Known as the Beleura cliff track, the path was closed for safety reasons after a landslide in 2013, although barriers erected by Mornington Peninsula Shire have been torn down and “track closed” notices ignored.
A concerted effort to get the shire to repair the track was rewarded last week when the shire managed to find an extra $50,000.
The state government last month announced it would give $50,000 towards the work, which was then matched by the shire.
However, the money fell well short of what was needed, with Mornington MP David Morris asserting the government had shortchanged the shire. The then mayor Cr Bev Colomb disagreed, and issued a statement praising the government for its contribution.
The lobbying for the shire to fix the track continued and looked like coming to head at a public meeting at 5pm on Wednesday (16 December) at the shire’s Mornington office.
The organisers say they still need as many people as possible at the meeting “to make sure the shire sets a start and finish date for the repairs”.
One of the organiser’s described the shire’s extra $50,000 as “a last ditch effort to save face”.
“One week out from the public meeting the council is beating their chest about their amazing generosity. We now have $200,000 and work to start early 2016.
“As much as I’m furious it took this level of action, the outcome is what is important.”
“The shire acknowledges this is a highly valued and much loved community asset and looks forward to re-opening the path once remediation works are complete,” the shire’s Thursday 10 November news release stated.
“The path will remain closed at the top and bottom access points until further notice; residents should not access the path for safety reasons.”
The 2013 landslip and others before it were caused by drainage from properties along the cliff top in Kalimna Drive.
First published in the Mornington News – 15 December 2015
