Beach applications now open

FOR the past 11 years, Felicity Ryan from FlickPT has rallied her troops under the Ocean Grove rotunda, using the beach as her gym thanks to a permit from Barwon Coast.
Applications are now open for providers wanting to conduct activities such as fitness, yoga/meditation classes or training on coastal reserves along the ocean river at Barwon Heads and Ocean Grove, and will be accepted until 4pm, June 25.
Barwon Coast Committee of Management chief executive officer Gary McPike said the permit ensured the safety of the public using Crown land.
“This is something that’s done every three years. By law all operators should have public liability insurance,” he said.
“If any of their clients injure themselves and they don’t have legal tenure over the land, or a license to operate on Crown land, their liability insurance might not cover them.
“One of the main obligations we have back to government is to ensure the safety of all users on land we manage. If you’re there with a commercial operator they become what’s called a third-party user.
“This applies to carnivals, festivals, surf schools; anybody who’s doing their own thing and making a dollar out of it – which isn’t a problem – but they’re not covered by the state’s public liability.”
Mr McPike said there was a one-off annual fee for providers holding regular classes; the process involves showing BCCM they have public liability up to $20 million, proper accreditation and adequate training qualifications.
“Surf schools pay an annual fee and then a fee per students. Activity providers (personal trainers/yoga instructors) only have to pay a one-off sum.
“One of the conditions of the permit is that providers can’t impinge or impact the enjoyment of other users. By its nature, compared to a lease, a license is shared use.
“You have to share the space with others, we try to make sure when we grant the licenses that they’re not on top of one another and are spaced out. Applicants nominate a site they want to use and times they want to use it so we can avoid congestion or overuse of any one site.”
Ms Ryan said she had been “extremely fortunate” to use the Crown land to keep the community healthy, active and nurture their social wellbeing.
“Locals love being able to participate in safe, supervised health and fitness activities run by small local businesses.
“We are blessed to live in such a beautiful part of the world so it’s important to encourage our community to enjoy activities along the foreshore.
Barwon Coast do a magnificent job looking after our coast, we always respect and protect the natural assets and will continue to do so in years to come.”
All applications will be treated in strict confidence and will be accepted until 4pm on June 25 via email to [email protected].
More information can be obtained from Barwon Coast, ph: 5254 1118 or head to forestsandreserves.vic.gov.au/tour-operators.