Alcohol Is Now Permanently Banned on the St Kilda Foreshore During Summer

Keen for a beachside beverage on the St Kilda foreshore now the weather is heating up? You'll have to hold off till April. The City of Port Phillip Council has just voted in a seasonal ban on boozing, which will be in place 24 hours a day from November 1 to March 31, every year.

The vote took place at a Council meeting last night and follows a night of violence on the foreshore this Saturday. It's not the first time booze has been banned on St Kilda foreshore, with a temporary ban being instated over the 2018 New Year's Eve period after a wild Christmas day party — then extended until April — but it is the first permanent ban.

During the long meeting, dozens of local business owners and members of the community relayed their experiences with alcohol-fuelled violence on St Kilda beach. One local justified the ban by referring to other popular Aussie beaches — such as Sydney's Bondi and Coogee beaches and all WA beaches — that are also alcohol-free. According to the Age five of the eight councillors, including newly reelected mayor Dick Gross, voted through the ban.

The new laws define the St Kilda foreshore as all beaches, reserves, parklands and carpark from Langridge Street to Thackeray Street. The summer ban will also coincide with increased police presence on the beach and a broader 'Community Safety Plan', focusing on creating a welcoming community and crime prevention.

The effectiveness of the ban will be reviewed by the Council after March 2019 and before August 2019.