Events for your Diary

November
  • Thu 14, 7:15pm: BCNA AGM, Trugo Club in Garden City Reserve
  • Sat 16, 9:30-10:30am: Love our Streets, meeting at 109 tram terminus

  • December
  • Tue 3, 5:30-7:30pm: Port Phillip Neighbourhood Policing Forum, Ingles St
  • Thu 5: BCNA Members' Dinner, Pier 35, Lorimer St
  • Sat 7, 9-10am: Beach Patrol, meeting at Princes Pier
  • Sat 14, 9:30-10:30am: Love our Streets, meeting at Olive's Corner (Liardet St, opposite Coles)

  • January
  • Sat 4, 9-10am: Beach Patrol, meeting at the Centenary Bridge Pylon between Station Pier and Port Melbourne Yacht Club
  • Sat 18, 9:30-10:30am: Love our Streets, meeting at Graham St under the overpass (near 109 tram stop)
  • Latest News

    You can use the search options at lower right to find specific items.

    Tuesday, 30 November 2021

    Temporary Closure of Beacon Cove Boat Landing

    We have just received a letter from the City of Port Phillip which announces that the Beacon Cove boat landing is to be closed until further testing has taken place and any necessary remedial works completed.


    This will have implication for the St Kilda - Williamstown ferry service and other boats that use this landing.

    Your committee has contacted the CoPP to better understand the issue and can report the following. After further inspection of the pier, consultants have advised there are 3 pylons requiring replacement. The pier has been fenced off as of 29 November and urgent arrangements to replace the pylons are being put in place. The CoPP is aware of the unfortunate timing coming in to summer and is working to expedite treatment and return the site to public usage as soon as possible.

    Thursday, 25 November 2021

    Council News Affecting Beacon Cove

    The BCNA regularly meets Gateway Ward Councillors to discuss issues of mutual interest. At our meeting on 8 November with the Mayor, Marcus Pearl, and Councillors Cunsolo and Martin we discussed:

    • Local Laws to stop hooning: The BCNA contacted Gateway Ward Councillors in October and asked if Port Phillip council would consider introducing similar Local Laws as other Councils have done. Councillors are waiting on a meeting with Victoria Police to hear and discuss the proposal. 
    • Safety concerns with shared paths in the area: This was explained in a recent news item.
    • 103 Beach Street (the Foodstore site): The BCNA raised three issues. One, the plaza area in front of the building should be redeveloped at the same time as the building. Second, car parking to the north of the building, which is on crown land, should be reviewed and redesigned with a view to increasing car parking spaces (five spaces will be resumed by the owner for the building). Third, it is desirable that the tram line duplication occurs at the same time as the building. All measures should be considered and scheduled to minimise disruption to the community.
    • Princes Street drain: Peter Smith, the CEO of the City of Port Phillip, has met representatives from Melbourne Water to discuss the health and amenity concerns as explained here. The BCNA will arrange a meeting with Melbourne Water.
    • Traffic management in Graham Street and on Williamstown Road: The BCNA raised issues at our July meeting. More recently, residents’ have raised concerns about the right turn from Plummer Street into Woolworths. Councillors agreed that this was a concern and plan to ask that this is included in a wider traffic safety study.
    • Accessing Council’s website:  Many residents find navigating Council’s revamped website difficult. Councillors are aware of this. They asked that residents could provide feedback to the Mayor, Marcus Pearl, at marcus.pearl@portphillip.vic.gov.au.
    • Out of character light poles installed by CitiPower: CitiPower replaces defective light poles as required and instals temporary ‘out of character’ poles until Council supplies a matching ‘goose neck’ style pole. Recently, there has been a delay in installing replacement poles. The Mayor, Marcus Pearl, agreed to check on this.
    • Overflowing rubbish bins along the foreshore: With lots of people visiting the foreshore at weekends there is often an overflow of rubbish, made worse if bins are not emptied early in the day. Councillors are aware of the problem. They requested residents to report overflowing bins by using Council’s ASSIST reporting service, or to use the ‘Snap Send Solve’ app. This action helps Council to direct resources to problem locations.

    Artisan market - Saturday 4 December 2021

    This is a free community event run by Port Melbourne Business Association (PMBA) for one day only, the Port’s Artisan Christmas Market supported by local community groups, businesses, Rotary, and the City of Port Phillip.

    It will be held in Bay Street, Port Melbourne from 12 noon to 7pm on Saturday 4 December.

    Consisting of around 150 different and unique artisan offerings for you to browse, Port’s Artisan Christmas Market will feature a range of handmade, locally produced gifts, art pieces, designs, jewellery and more. Offering something for everyone, Port’s Artisan Christmas Market is the perfect one stop shop for a range of unique Christmas presents – so you can shop knowing you are supporting local businesses. 

    For more information, go to the PMBA website.

    Friday, 19 November 2021

    BCNA’s Annual General Meeting Summary

    The BCNA held its Annual General Meeting on Thursday 11th November. For those who could not make it a copy of the President’s report to members is available here and a summary of the meeting is available here. The President, Eddie Micallef, particularly thanked Bill Fisher for his work as Secretary. Bill did not renominate for the position. Bill has put an enormous amount of work into the role and the Association is stronger for all his efforts.

    The BCNA was fortunate to arrange impressive speakers for the AGM. The Guest Speaker was the Mayor, Louise Crawford and her address to the meeting can be accessed here. The Hon. Martin Foley MP provided an update and both he and the Mayor answered questions. Superintendent Helen Chugg, in charge of the Port Phillip police area, spoke about Victoria Police’s summer program including anti hoon measures. Gateway Ward Councillors spoke about local issues, including Council’s decision to acquire a mobile CCTV unit to combat hoon driving.

    Click on the links below to view videos of the various presentations:

    New Mayor - Cr Marcus Pearl

    Congratulations to Gateway Ward representative, Cr Marcus Pearl who was elected mayor of the City of Port Phillip during the week. Cr Tim Baxter was elected deputy mayor.

    Tuesday, 9 November 2021

    1-7 Waterfront Place Update

    VCAT arranged a compulsory meeting last Friday, 5th November, between the developer, the City of Port Phillip, and other parties. Such meetings are scheduled to find a resolution as explained earlier.

    Unfortunately, there was no resolution. This means it will proceed to a Hearing from 23-25th March 2022, if an agreement has not been reached earlier.

    AGM Reminder

    The AGM for the BCNA is being held this Thursday, 11th November at 6.30 pm.

    Financial members have been sent details with a Zoom link for this meeting. If you have not received the papers, contact treasurer@beaconcove.org.au.

    We believe this AGM is something not to be missed. We are very pleased to have three speakers with authority across various aspects of Port Phillip life. The Hon. Martin Foley, MP will provide an update on local state issues. Minister Foley has been especially prominent in recent months as the Minister for Health. Our Guest Speaker from the City of Port Phillip is the Mayor, Louise Crawford. And Inspector Helen Chugg, Victoria Police’s Local Area Commander for Port Phillip, has accepted an invitation to speak about anti hoon programs and policing in general. Please join the Zoom meeting to hear about current issues and have your questions answered.

    Safety Concerns with Shared Paths

    The BCNA supports the upgrade of the Garden City shared path to improve connections for bike riders and make Beacon Road and Swallow Street safer for all users. Our earlier item included a map showing the route.

    The Garden City shared path is used by parents taking children to and from the Port Melbourne Primary School. It is particularly dangerous where pedestrians join the central path from Beacon Vista and Edina Close, as the warning signs that pedestrians are joining a shared path are poor. Garden City Reserve is a dog off leash area, so the scope for accidents with dogs and cyclists is high.

    We continue to have concerns for the safety of pedestrians and cyclists using all shared paths in Beacon Cove. There have already been accidents and ‘near misses’ and we think this will become greater as more cyclists use these paths.

    The BCNA has discussed our concerns with Gateway Ward councillors. Unfortunately, no improvements are in immediate prospect. The City of Port Phillip (Council) officers are proposing that Council’s Transport Safety team will monitor use of the Garden City shared path once the upgrade has been completed.  We hope they monitor the other shared paths as well.