Beach clean-up begins after weekend’s wild weather

THE Great Ocean Road Coast Committee’s (GORCC) foreshore rangers are busy assessing the impact of a wild weekend on the coast.

The committee’s coastal reserves manager Caleb Hurrell thanked members of the public who had helped the team to identify areas in need of attention up and down the coastline.

“We’ve seen trees down, sand lost from some beaches and widespread coastal erosion, which are common occurrences in winter,” he said.

“Most of the sand lost during winter storms returns with the calmer weather building beaches back up again during summer.

“A cliff fall at Soapy Rocks in Anglesea occurred, which now has warning signage in place. The area will continue to be monitored.

“Otherwise, beach access stairs at Spout Creek and 12th Avenue at Point Roadknight have been severely damaged and are closed. Both will need to be replaced.”

Mr Hurrell said following difficult conditions and rising waters last week, foreshore rangers also successfully opened the estuary at Spring Creek in Torquay on Monday.

He said the team had been busy over the past few weeks, building three new bridges on the Torquay Common and new access stairs at Torquay Back Beach and at Jan Juc.

“Winter is challenging for the team and we’re pleased to be able to adapt to the changing conditions and continue to provide access points to the spectacular coast between Torquay and Lorne.

GORCC also manages the opening of Spring Creek and Erskine River in Lorne, when conditions require it.