Budget Allocates Funds to Help Preserve Surf Club

Published on Wednesday, 18 August 2021 at 12:02:26 PM

Following a two-week extension for budget considerations, Council has allocated funding within the Shire’s annual budget to cover the costs of immediate and short-term remediation work at the Denmark Surf Life Saving Club.

Ocean Beach sustained severe damage this winter due to coastal erosion which prompted urgent interventions to protect the buildings at the site.

Council agreed on the inclusion of a $200,000 line item in the 2021/2022 budget to fund works necessary to prevent irreparable damage from occurring.

“The Shire is working closely with a coastal engineer who specialises in coastal management in order to guide the next steps in conjunction with the Denmark Surf Life Saving Club and community,” Shire of Denmark Director Assets and Sustainable Development David King said.

“We’re expecting continued wet weather and heavy coastal conditions in the coming months and this allocation of funds through the annual budget process means we’ll have funds available to cover any urgent and short-term works which are required.”

“Things seem to have settled down after the work which has already been done at the site but we need the infrastructure to survive the remainder of winter and spring before we can get to work on longer-term fixes."

"We are also waiting on news of our application to the Building Better Regions Fund which, if successful, will provide us with funds to progress longer-term plans for the site.”

Following the budget adoption meeting, Shire President Ceinwen Gearon said she was pleased Council was in a position to allocate funds to help preserve the beloved community assets at Ocean Beach.

“Thanks to responsible financial management of Shire Operations, we are able to allocate these funds to help mitigate further damage to infrastructure at Ocean Beach,” Cr Gearon said.

“We all have our fingers crossed for much more substantial funding to come our way via the Federal funding we have applied for but in the meantime, we are glad to be in a position to do our part to help with short term solutions.”

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