Dune plan anger

Jane Emerick
Torquay residents are threatening legal action against plans for manmade dunes behind White’s Beach.
The residents fear the work at an area of the beach called The Gap will fill in dunes to obscure their ocean views, devalue properties and block a drainage point for floodwater.
Great Ocean Road Coast Committee said it would build the dunes was to stop sand blowing onto a foreshore footpath and to improve beach access.
Robert Lithgow, who lives on The Esplanade adjacent to The Gap, said the dunes would block his view and devalue his property “by hundreds of thousands” of dollars.
The project would impact on views from about 40 homes, Mr Lithgow said.
“Residents are quite alarmed to discover that GORCC is actively working to devalue their properties,” Mr Lithgow said.
“It’s incredible to us that GORCC is willing to steal from residents for a bit of sand spilling onto its path.”
Mr Lithgow said the committee had not consulted residents about the dunes plan.
“On the contrary, they came down last week and told us what they were going to do.”
Mr Lithgow said legal action was “brewing”.
“We’re talking a class action suit in the millions of dollars,” he said.
“That is one expensive manmade dune.”
Councillor Keith Grossman warned blocking The Gap could cause flooding of nearby homes.
“White’s Gap is a natural area for water to drain into the ocean,” he said.
“Flooding has happened there before and the same thing will happen again. I wouldn’t like to see the houses (near The Gap) filling with water.”
Coast committee executive officer David Clarke was not worried about flooding.
“Flooding issues are managed by the shire,” Mr Clarke said.
“We don’t believe works at White’s Gap will have a negative impact on the flooding.”
Mr Clarke said blocking views was not the intention of the project.
“We have a job to manage the coast. The works we are proposing are consistent with that.”
Mr Clarke refused to reveal the precise height of the manmade dunes, except to say they would be “low level”.
“Low level equals low level,” he said.