Bay Street Festival - This Friday

This is a last minute reminder that the Bay Street Festival is on tomorrow (or today if you're reading this by the email notification).  That is Friday 30 November.

It runs from 5 to 9pm and has Christmas windows, Santa, Disney princesses, Santa, a schools choirs competition, a jazz parade, a celebration concert, and a Santa Paws parade (bring your puppies).

More details can be found here.

Graffiti Management Plan 2019-24

The City of Port Phillip (CoPP) is currently seeking feedback to develop a new Graffiti Management Plan that will meet the evolving needs and expectations of the community and Council.

The Graffiti Management Plan will provide direction for the:

• Removal and management of graffiti across the city
• Implementation of community focussed programs that contribute to minimising occurrences of graffiti
• Provision of opportunities for people to participate in more legitimate forms of public art.

Click here for more details and/or to provide your feedback.

Election Pledges Affecting Beacon Cove - Update

Back in September the BCNA met with the main local candidates for the state election and asked them to comment on key issues of importance to Beacon Cove residents (air quality monitoring, low sulphur fuel for ships using Station Pier, and Waterfront Place). On the 12th November we published the responses we had received by that time.

At the time we had not received a response from Ogy Simic, the Greens candidate. He has now responded and you can find his response here.

Our Latest Newsletter is Out

Volunteers are currently dropping copies of our newsletter in mailboxes throughout Beacon Cove. It covers a number of topics including:

• Air Quality Monitoring at Station Pier
• Mandatory Use of Ultra-low Sulphur Fuel for Ships at Station Pier
• Update on 1-7 Waterfront Place
• Victorian Ports Corporation Planning for Station Pier
• Reinvestment in the Waterfront Place Precinct
• Beacon Cove Foodstore Redevelopment
• BCNA Social Events

For those who would like an electronic copy, it can be downloaded here.

JL Murphy Reserve: Play Space

The 2012 JL Murphy Reserve Master Plan recommends the play space should be updated with a new playground that is better positioned within the reserve and to develop natural play spaces that connect with the playground and other key elements within the reserve.

Feedback from the initial consultation has been collated and has been used to inform the draft concept design for the upgrade and your comments are sought. Details on this are available here.

The City of Port Phillip (CoPP) will collate your comments and use it to direct the final concept design which they will present for comment in early 2019. For more information contact the Open Space team on 9209 6777.

BCNA Webmaster Recognised

The BCNA Committee believes that one of the reasons for the steady growth in membership over time is the news and information shown on our website. John Whittington, a BCNA member, maintains the website and runs the popular email news service. John’s efforts were formally recognised at the recent AGM.


Photo courtesy Bernadene Voss, from left John Whittington, Bill Fisher, and Eddie Micallef

The BCNA often receives compliments about the website and this is due to John’s work. Thank you, John.

Rainbow Warrior Open Day at Station Pier - This Sunday

Greenpeace's flagship The Rainbow Warrior will be visiting Station Pier this weekend.

It will only open to the public for one day on Sunday 18 November. Thre will be free tours and onshore activities.

For more details or to book a tour, click here.

Update on Traffic Management at Station Pier

We have recently received the following information from the City of Port Phillip (CoPP) which you may find of interest.

The extended traffic management plan (TMP) to be implemented at the Waterfront Place, Princes Street and Beach Street roundabout to include traffic controllers is part of a trial. This will be implemented on cruise ship turnaround visits that coincide with a double sailing by TT- Line between 5:30 am to 9 am on single-double and 6:30 am to 9:30 am on double-double sailing days.

Although, Council is aware queueing occurs during some evening periods on cruise shipping days, Council has identified the morning peak period to be the critical period. 

Existing signage along Todd Road for vehicles travelling southbound towards Williamstown Road advises drivers to turn left onto Williamstown Road as continuing along Todd Road is for LOCAL ACCESS ONY. The preferred route for trucks is Todd Road – Williamstown Road – Graham Street – Bay Street – Beach Street.

On critical cruise shipping days in December 2018 and January 2019, as part of the extended TMP, Variable Message Signs (VMS) trailers will be temporarily installed proximate to:

• The intersection of Todd Road and Williamstown Road, Port Melbourne and
• The intersection Rouse Street and Bay Street, Port Melbourne.

VMS will advise drivers, trucks can only access Waterfront Place from Beach Street via Bay Street. The effectiveness of the trail will be monitored during and after the 2018/19 shipping season.

City of Port Philip Heritage

It has been brought to our attention (after the event) that the City of Port Phillip (CoPP) had a Heritage Here and Now consulttion in May/June of this year.

According to the CoPP, the consultation confirmed that there are differing views between those places identified as gaps by Council in the PPHR (Port Phillip Heritage Register) and those raised as concerns by the community. The community groups recognise heritage as constantly changing and to them, significance is informed by a range of environmental, social and economic factors, not just the architectural quality of a building or place. Additionally, the consultation highlighted the limits of the planning system in recognising the social value of these buildings. The full results of that engagement can be found here.

To prevent the demolition of places of social value in the future, the Heritage Program is seeking to introduce a range of measures to better align Council’s heritage provisions with community value. Strategic planning work to strengthen the policy and controls is already underway.

There are two upcoming pieces of engagement as part of this strategic work. The first in Jan/Feb 2019 is with heritage focus groups on the new framework of the Thematic Environment History. A wider public consultation will take place around May 2019 for the updated heritage policy and controls. The CoPP have indicated that members of BCNA will be very welcome to participate in both and we are assured that this time they will advise us prior to the consultations.

Election Pledges Affecting Beacon Cove

The BCNA has met four (of the six) candidates standing for Albert Park to discuss our request for a long-term air quality monitoring program at Station Pier; the introduction of low-sulphur marine fuel for ships using Station Pier; and the need for the Victorian Government to reinvest in the Waterfront Place precinct. We are attempting to meet the remaining candidates.

The candidates’ responses are as follows:

• Martin Foley, Andrew Bond and Tamasin Ramsay support air quality monitoring at Station Pier.  
• Tamasin Ramsay supports the mandated use of 0.1% sulphur in fuel for all ships using Station Pier. Andrew Bond is prepared to advocate for the lower standard with the Commonwealth Government which has responsibility.
• Martin Foley and Tamasin Ramsay support reinvestment in the Waterfront Place precinct.  Andrew Bond would be happy to investigate any proposal put forward by Council as Council is the Responsible Authority for all areas other than Station Pier.

To see the detailed responses, just click on the names here: Martin Foley (Labor), Andrew Bond (Liberal), Tamasin Ramsay (Animal Justice).

Ogy Simic, the Greens candidate, had not responded by the deadline for this post. We will post his response when it is received.

BCNA AGM Report

The BCNA AGM was held last night (Thursday) with 33 members attending.  Both the Mayor of the City of Port Phillip (CoPP), Bernadene Voss, and our state member of Parliament, Martin Foley, gave short presentations and answered members' questions.

Some key points from the presentations that may be of interest to those who did not attend were:

• There will be a breakfast forum with the candidates for the Albert Park electorate in the forthcoming state election. It will be held on Wednesday 7th November at Mr Hobsons on Station Pier. More details and registration details can be found here.
• The two Spirit of Tasmania ships are to be replaced by bigger, cleaner, versions in 2021. More details can be found here and here.
• Apparently the architect and proposed design of the Beacon Cove Foodstore redevopment has been changed and the CoPP has been advised that they now intend to plan to the full height allowance of ~19m, some metres taller than the original proposal. More details to come...
• If residents want to receive the CoPP Council Meeting agendas each week, then email H6@portphillip.vic.gov.au and your email will be included on the distribution list.
• Residents can sign up at https://haveyoursay.portphillip.vic.gov.au/ to be sent notices about the topics on which CoPP is currently seeking consultation.  Beacon Cove residents are encouraged to sign up and contribute to ensure that feedback is balanced across the whole City of Port Phillip.

Questions covered in the meeting included topics such as the increasing amount of plastics (and other waste) on our beaches, fortnightly rubbish collections, what is happening to the waste transfer station, motorcycle noise, how to stop destruction of historic pubs etc (eg the London), and how are rates determined.

Following the presentations our President, Eddie Micallef, presented his annual President's Report (download here), the annual accounts were presented and approved, and a Committee elected for the coming year.

Congratulations (and thanks!) to Eddie Micallef (President), Pam Montgomery (VP), Bill Fisher (Hon Sec), Roger Joyce (Hon Treas), Grant Aldous, Geoff Lord, Greg Mate, Robyn McKenna, Richard Nowotny, and Julie Simpkin, for volunteering to help and being elected.

Draft Minutes of the meeting will be sent to BCNA members in the next month.