The project will address the needs of the Seaspray and wider Gippsland communities and enhance living, socialising and recreation as follows:

• The Seaspray and Honeysuckles communities comprise a high proportion of retirees and pensioners.
• Access to the beach is an important aspect of living in Seaspray – for fishing, walking and just enjoying the beach environment.
• The Seaspray Disabled Beach Access Ramp and beach viewing Platform were built in 2008 and have been important community assets for 14 years. There was however been a buildup of sand on sections of the Ramp and Platform over recent years.
• A storm event in November, 2021 eroded sand from under the platform. Heavy rain added to the weight of accumulated sand on the platform. This caused a collapse of part of the platform, and has led to closure of the Ramp and Platform since December, 2021.

The proposed project will:

• Clear accumulated sand from a number of sections of the Seaspray Disabled Ramp and Beach Viewing Platform;
• Rebuild sections of the Ramp and Platform damaged by the storm event;
• Install retention boards on some sections of the platform to reduce the extent of sand buildup in the future.

The need or gap in infrastructure provision that the project will address is that there is no other regulatory compliant disabled access to the 90 Mile Beach in the Central Gippsland region. If this infrastructure is not repaired, such access will be lost for the long term.

There is no other source of funding that can be accessed within a reasonable timeframe to make the required repairs to the Disabled Beach Access Ramp and beach viewing Platform. The community contributed an amount of $10,000 towards the building of the Ramp in 2008, but there is no longer a source of community funding that can meet the needs of this project.

Through the Seaspray Equitable Beach Access Community Network Incorporated, the Seaspray community will provide significant support to this project by:

• Preparing designs and specifications for the required sand clearing and structural repair work;
• Obtaining quotations, reviewing responses and contracting the work;
• Supervising the construction;
• Promoting to both the Seaspray community and the wider Gippsland community the re-establishment of beach access for disabled, elderly and health compromised persons as well as parents with young children.