Barwon Coast is calling for community involvement to tackle erosion at Ocean Grove Main Beach.
The beach continues to be heavily impacted by coastal storm erosion, Barwon Coast said last week.
Barwon Coast is set to undertake investigations into the coastal erosion processes and what options for solutions are available to address this issue.
“Part of the solution to the erosion impacts will be the replacement of the main beach access ramp and foreshore protection works,” Barwon Coast CEO Gary McPike said.
“The ramp is old and with recent storm impacts becoming more severe it needs to be redesigned and rebuilt to maintain safe access to this significant stretch of coastline.
“We need the community and key stakeholder groups’ assistance to make the best decisions on a new ramp design and foreshore protection arrangements at this site.”
Barwon Coast will hold community open houses on Thursday 11 October from 4pm to 7pm and Saturday 13 October from 10am to 1pm at the City of Greater Geelong Customer Service Centre on the corner of Presidents Avenue and The Avenue in Ocean Grove.
“We will be showcasing information on this project and are really looking to gather any views or information the community and key stakeholder groups may have on the ramp and adjoining coastal protection,” Mr McPike said.
“We invite anyone with an interest in the ramp area to come along and say hello. If you have any old photos of this area we’d love to see them”.
Barwon Coast staff and environmental consultants from Water Technology, which is assisting Barwon Coast with a review of coastal processes along the main beach, will be at the open houses to answer any questions.
“The existing ramp is structurally compromised as a result of damaging coastal processes, notably a large storm in 2015 and a continuing series of surge impacts which caused significant local erosion of the sand dune,” Mr McPike said.
“We have lost six to eight metres of this foredune in the last ten years.
“This is, in turn, threatening important community beach access infrastructure on the top of the dune, including the main beach car park and toilet block.”
More information on the project can be found at barwoncoast.com.au/15w-ramp.
