More unauthorised works have damaged a public beach in Frankston South, as separate enforcement action against a man who admitted building an illegal seawall nearby drags on.
Video captured on Sunday shows an excavator tearing up rocks on the Port Phillip Bay shoreline, south of Olivers Hill.
The Department of Environment, Energy, and Climate Action (DEECA) confirmed to The Age on Tuesday they had not permitted any works on the stretch of Crown land.
“We have been on site to gather evidence,” a spokesperson said.
An excavator on a public beach just south of Olivers Hill in Frankston on Sunday.Credit: Facebook/Cr Brad Hill
The Age contacted several property owners and spotted an excavator on a vacant seaside block nearby, but was unable to confirm who was behind Sunday’s digging.
The recent works were less than a hundred metres from a seawall that stoked controversy in March, when multimillion-dollar mansion owner Gene Neill told The Age he had built the wall on public land without permission to protect his home from erosion, as others nearby had also done.
There is no suggestion that Neill is linked to the weekend works, which DEECA is treating separately.
When contacted about Sunday’s incident, Neill declined to comment, saying he had since moved.
In March, Neill said he would adhere to a council-issued stop-work order and eventually rip out the seawall in front of his $9.25 million home after a public backlash to early works surprised him.
By July, The Age reported that Frankston City Council had resolved to launch enforcement proceedings over the unauthorised seawall and serve Neill with a formal legal letter.
Gene Neill’s seawall, which has been developed further despite the owner previously saying he was going to rip it out.Credit: Joe Armao
However, the wall has since been developed further, with a new ramp and rocks added, and council has refused to provide details about the status of enforcement proceedings.
“Given the legal and privacy sensitivities, council cannot comment on individual properties or active compliance matters,” interim chief executive Cam Arullanantham said in a statement on Tuesday.
A spokesperson for DEECA, which ultimately owns the Crown land that council manages, similarly declined to comment further.
“Regarding the neighbouring unauthorised seawall, DEECA is investigating enforcement options,” they said.
The wall first attracted council attention in February, and more than 50 people reportedly complained to Frankston MP Paul Edbrooke’s office on the first weekend of March.
Neill defended pushing ahead with the project at the time, pointing to the long-standing walls of some neighbours.
“Everyone’s wall along the foreshore is illegal,” he said in March. “If they let everyone else do it along here, I’ve got to be able to do it.”
He argued it was too difficult to get government approval, which is required under the Marine and Coastal Act.
An excavator appears to be visible behind a tree near the Kackeraboite Creek Beach on Tuesday, but this masthead cannot confirm it was the machine which conducted unauthorised works on the public beach on Sunday.Credit: Joe Armao
Rising sea levels from climate change are expected to worsen erosion and threaten homes across Port Phillip Bay over coming decades, increasing pressure to protect seaside infrastructure.
However, some locals, including Labor MP Paul Edbrooke, have taken issue with the unauthorised nature of Neill’s seawall and the brazen damage to native vegetation and Crown land.
The state MP said that while the beach in front of Neill’s home was “not the prettiest”, it was still public and used for activities such as dog walking.
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