A busy year planning for repairs
While funding for safety works to Flinders Pier has been committed, this is a complex project given the pier's recent heritage listing. Over the past six months, we’ve been working through the necessary steps to start work as expediently as possible. This includes identifying and outlining the best options for critical repairs within the $1.53 budget allocation. Prior to deciding on the preferred repair option, to reflect the pier’s inclusion in the Victorian Heritage Register, the Flinders Foreshore Precinct Conservation Management Plan (CMP) has required revision.
We’ve been working closely with Mornington Peninsula Shire Council to conduct and finalise the revision of the precinct’s CMP. The revised CMP will incorporate the pier’s recent listing on the Victoria Heritage Register (VHR) and provide valuable guidance on the future management of the pier, with respect to its heritage values.
As part of consultation on the revision, stakeholders were provided a draft CMP for comment. These comments have been incorporated into the revision process which is now being finalised ready for presentation and formal adoption by council in September 2023.
The time required to review the CMP means the delivery timeline which was shared with the community in December 2022 is no longer able to be met and as such, it has been
removed from the project webpage. In addition, given the heritage status of the pier, there is a requirement for Parks Victoria to seek statutory permits, including from Heritage Victoria, to undertake works on the pier. Because of this, at this stage we cannot provide an accurate delivery timeline until the successful completion of the necessary planning stages. We will share a project timeline with the community and stakeholders of Flinders Pier as soon as we can.
In the meantime, it’s important to remember the first 180-metres of the 327-metre-long Flinders Pier was reconstructed in 2010-2011 and closures only apply to the duplicated timber inner approach section of Flinders Pier. Pedestrians can continue to access and use the full 327 metre length of the pier.