NEW warning signs will be installed along Portland’s Nun’s Beach as the Glenelg Shire ramps up its warnings for users of the dangerous stretch of coastal land.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Nineteen new signs will be installed between the Anderson Point steps and Ploughed Field this week on both the beach and the cliff top.
The area has been closed since the middle of last year after heavy winter rain, combined with differing soil types, led to landslips, slumps and rockfalls.
An inspection last month stipulated that a series of signs including interpretive, information, hazard and regulatory warnings were needed at both the entrance to the danger zone and across the entire walkway at the top and base of the cliff.
The coastal risk assessment was done with reference to five nationally imposed compliance standards — the large number of signs indicating the potential danger posed by this site. Department of Environment and Primary Industries (DEPI) and the Glenelg Shire Council have been working together to manage the risks associated with the rockfall and landslips with a view to reopening the area as soon as practical.
In February a newly developed path at the top of the cliff, set back from the edge where it was originally located, was opened.
But the area between the base of the Nun’s Beach steps and the base of the Anderson Point steps remains closed.
Glenelg Shire mayor John Northcott said community safety was the number one concern for council and the department.
“All of the signs give images of the dangers so that the information can be understood by everyone — there is no excuse for people not to follow the direction of these signs,” he said.
A community information session about the area is planned for the coming weeks.