Moyne Shire Council releases Port Fairy East Beach plans

The council released the drawings for stage one of its East Beach Masterplan on Wednesday morning, depicting a major redevelopment of the foreshore along Beach Street between Hughes Street and Bourne Avenue.

The project will build new toilet and shower facilities, new public barbeques and shelters, accessible recreation areas, landscaping and seating along the foreshore. There will also be 12 extra parking spaces created, including three new accessible spaces.

The East Beach redevelopment has been years in the making, with planning and consultation stretching back to 2018. Mayor Karen Foster said the community had provided extensive feedback throughout the process.

"During the extensive consultation, the community told us what they wanted to see and that information has been used to create a design to make it an even better space to enjoy our iconic East Beach," Cr Foster said.

She said there would be two "drop-in sessions" at the education centre behind Charlie's on East, on Saturday, March 25 and Sunday, April 2, which would give people a chance to discuss the plans in detail.

"The community will have a chance to meet the consultants and Council staff who will be managing the project to ask questions and provide some feedback," Cr Foster said.

"There will also be a site walk with the project team at 10am on each of the two days, starting from the Surf Club."

The designs have incorporated premium sustainable materials, with "timber highlights" and locally sourced bluestone. Stage one will cost nearly $1.7 million, with the state government providing $1.27m and the council tipping in $425,000.

There isn't any funding yet for stage two of the project, but design work is being done concurrently so it is "shovel ready" once the first stage is finished. The whole project is scheduled to be finished in mid-2025.

Cr Foster said the concept plans could be found on the council website, where it was also possible to leave feedback.