By Hamish Heard
DEVELOPERS behind the proposed Nelson Place Marina last week lifted the lid on ambitious plans to demolish Ferguson St Pier and build a 324-berth floating marina in its place.
The controversial plan involves building a combined marina to service Royal Victorian Motor Yacht Club and Hobsons Bay Yacht Club as well as providing berths for a new development at Knights Slipway.
Nelson Place Marina Pty Ltd is presently negotiating with Parks Victoria about securing a lease for the Knights Slipway site.
The company has entered talks with the two yacht clubs because Knights Slipway does not include a seabed lease and it wants to build 50 yacht berths for leasing to future clients.
According to the company’s proposal, it wants to develop the site to its “full commercial potential”.
It would achieve this by demolishing the clubs’ existing marinas that are “in need of upgrading both in terms of the actual structure and the available number of berths”.
The marinas would be replaced with a floating marina providing HBYC with 150 berths, RVMYC with 124 berths and NPM with 50.
“With cooperation between the two adjacent clubs and NPM, this location could become a ‘super club’ that maximises all three parcels of land to provide the general public, boat owners and club members facilities second to none,” the proposal states.
A source told Star that NPM had indicated the development could not proceed unless Ferguson St Pier was demolished.
“Our proposal is to realign Ferguson St (Pier) and replace it with floating attenuator, effectively shifting the public jetty to the north and opening up the space available to the clubs for extra marina berths and improved fairways,” the NPM proposal states.
It says materials from the original pier would be recycled for use as a public boardwalk.
Another feature would be a sheltered, man-made beach to be used for launching small sailing boats.
“This area should be able to hold sand with the proposed new attenuator sheltering it from wash and weather,” the proposal states.
It says the development would “naturally” lead to a “slight” increase in berthing fees for yacht club members.
