Substantial Congestion Expected at Ocean Beach and Prawn Rock

"Hi, I'm Kingsley Gibson, the Denmark Shire President. I'm here at the lookout car park at Prawn [Rock] Channel to talk about congestion and the challenges that we're going to have over this coming summer due to the fact that there's a major redevelopment occurring at the Ocean Beach carpark and Surf Club."

"So, parking is going to be super restricted and it's going to mean that scenes like this are only going to get worse as we progress further into summer, with the only real access down to Ocean Beach behind me through the walkway and the stairs here at Prawn [Rock] Channel. So, we're asking everyone who can to avoid the area where possible, to try to find alternative transport means other than a car, so if you can ride or walk that would be great because parking is going to be at an absolute premium."

"It's going to last all summer long, and as more and more visitors come into town, it's only going to get worse, so please consider other options like going to Parry's beach, [or] our other beaches and we have a lot of great beaches in the Shire."

WHAT'S THE SHIRE DOING TO MANAGE THIS?

"The Shire is operating an information campaign, so we're putting flyers at all the local tourist accommodation providers so that all the visitors to town will be aware of the situation. We'll put posters up around the area, obviously information on our website as well, and there will be an electronic signage board at the entrance to Ocean Beach road in town."

WHAT ELSE DO I NEED TO KNOW?

"For people accessing Ocean Beach, just be aware it will be a patrolled beach this summer so please swim between the flags, but if the flags aren't up it means nobody is on lookout and you need to take precautions accordingly. And the Shire Rangers will be visiting the area as often as they possibly can."

WHEN WILL OCEAN BEACH REOPEN?

"The Ocean Beach redevelopment, which includes the Surf Club [and] a whole heap of stuff that's good for the general public around a kiosk and more space and better access, should be by October next year (2025). So yes, we have a year of difficulty and a summer of real congestion and pain, but long term it's going to be a facility that we can all be super proud of and will give us much better access and enjoyment at Ocean Beach where we all love to go."

"We appreciate how busy things get in Denmark generally and how crazy they're likely to get here through the course of the summer. We really appreciate people's patience, particularly the locals who rightly regard this as their home turf."

"Thank you for putting up with it through the course of this summer and remember it will be so much better going forward."

Read the Latest Project Update Find out More About the Ocean Beach Redevelopment Project