Gold Coast–Style Marina Proposed for Eastern Beach Raises Alarm in Victor Harbor

A proposal for a large-scale marina at Eastern Beach, Victor Harbor — described by community groups as being of “Gold Coast proportions” — has reignited widespread concern about environmental damage, loss of public space, and long-term financial risk for ratepayers.

The City of Victor Harbor has released its Draft Recreational Boating Strategy 2025 for public consultation. While the strategy outlines upgrades to existing boating facilities across the region, it also flags investigation of a major new marina linked to a proposed Eastern Beach boat ramp.

Although presented as a long-term vision for “safer, sustainable and fit-for-purpose” boating infrastructure, the scale and location of the marina proposal has alarmed residents, environmental organisations, and coastal care groups.

A Marina That Would Transform Eastern Beach

The draft strategy provides limited detail on the marina itself, but community analysis paints a confronting picture.

Biodiversity Victor Harbor has overlaid the proposed marina footprint onto the Eastern Beach precinct. The result shows a development larger than the entire Victor Harbor Central Shopping Centre, including its car parks.

                      

                              

The marina would:

• Extend approximately 225 metres along the foreshore, from behind the skate park past Qahwa Café to the tennis courts
• Require parking and manoeuvring space for more than 200 vehicles and boat trailers
• Permanently occupy land currently used for walking, informal sport, family gatherings, and passive recreation

This goes far beyond a local boat ramp or Sea Rescue facility.

“This proposal is not a modest boating upgrade,” said Mark Richards of Biodiversity Victor Harbor. “It represents a marina of Gold Coast proportions, with a footprint larger than Victor Harbor Central. Its scale would permanently remove important open coastal space from general community use.”

Environmental Risks in a Sensitive Coastal Area

Environmental groups warn that Eastern Beach and the Bridge Terrace precinct are among the most ecologically sensitive sections of Victor Harbor’s coastline.

Potential impacts include:

• Loss of seagrass beds, which are critical nursery habitats for fish and marine species such as leafy and weedy seadragons
• Increased dredging, sediment disturbance and reduced water quality
• Accelerated coastal erosion in an area already experiencing dune loss and shoreline instability
• Increased pressure on nearby wildlife, including hooded plovers and Granite Island penguins

Annual dredging alone is expected to cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, due to continual sand and seagrass movement in Encounter Bay.

“Biodiversity Victor Harbor has serious concerns about the proposed marina development and its impact on the local environment and biodiversity of the area,”
said Dr Peter Sharley OAM, on behalf of Biodiversity Victor Harbor.

A Site Rejected — Twice Before

The proposed marina location is not new. According to Victor Harbor Coastcare, the Bridge Terrace site has already been rejected twice over the past 25 years due to environmental and coastal protection concerns.

“In the year 2000, an Environmental Impact Statement found Bridge Terrace unsuitable for a marina,” said Loreto Cameron, Chair of Victor Harbor Coastcare.
“A little over ten years later, another proposal was again rejected. The ecological sensitivity of this coastline has been well established — yet here we are again.”

Ms Cameron warned that constructing a marina intrusion into an already eroding shoreline would be “highly unpredictable”, with the potential to worsen erosion elsewhere and even affect the mouth of the River Hindmarsh.

Traffic, Safety and Local Amenity at Risk

Beyond environmental impacts, residents have raised serious concerns about traffic, safety and congestion.

Bridge Terrace is already a busy precinct, particularly on weekends, and includes:

• A railway crossing
• Limited turning capacity for large vehicles
• High pedestrian use

“Has the impact of increased car and boat traffic really been thought through?” asked Ms Cameron. “A large vehicle stopping across the railway line is not a far-fetched scenario. The risks to safety and local amenity are real.”

Concerns have also been raised about:

• Conflicts between swimmers, paddlecraft users and larger vessels
• Noise and visual impacts in a previously quiet coastal area
• The loss of one of Victor Harbor’s last remaining east-facing grassy foreshore areas

Who Pays — and Who Benefits?

One of the strongest objections centres on cost and financial risk.

Despite the scale of the proposed infrastructure, the draft strategy provides:

• No detailed costings
• No clear funding model
• No long-term financial analysis

Experience elsewhere suggests ratepayers may ultimately bear the burden.

“To our knowledge, there is not a marina in South Australia that has not incurred significant and ongoing financial losses,” said Mr Richards. “Construction and long-term maintenance costs will inevitably fall to Victor Harbor ratepayers — over 95% of whom will receive no direct benefit.”

The primary users of the marina are expected to be Adelaide-based boat owners, many of whom would visit for day trips before returning home — delivering limited economic benefit to the local community.

Community Voices Matter — Make a Submission

Biodiversity Victor Harbor will lodge a formal submission opposing the marina proposal and urging Council to reconsider its direction. The organisation is calling on residents, members and supporters to make their concerns heard.

Public consultation on the Draft Recreational Boating Strategy 2025:

• Opened: 3 December 2025
• Closes: 5:00pm, Friday 30 January 2026

🔗 Have Your Say – Recreational Boating Strategy
https://yoursay.victor.sa.gov.au/boating

 

Why You Should Join Biodiversity Victor Harbor

Biodiversity Victor Harbor is a community-driven, not-for-profit organisation established in 2023.
Incorporated and registered as a Charity, we unite individuals from diverse backgrounds who share a deep commitment to our region’s natural environment.
Biodiversity Victor Harbor is a member of Landcare South Australia.

Donations are tax-deductible.

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For more information Bio-VH Submission re CVH Recreational Boating Strategy (Eastern Beach Marina)