Media response - Sellicks Beach bollards

Published on 19 March 2026

Enquiry – The Advertiser

I'm writing about the council's decision to install bollards at the Sellicks Beach no-car zone and wanted to put a question to council about Green Adelaide's response to the consultation.

Their office has called on council to tighten rules even further and included the following EPBC Conservation Advice, asking council to consider:

• Manage the use of (and access to) key beaches for recreation when plovers are breeding-e.g. discourage or prohibit vehicle access, horse riding and dogs from beaches; implement temporary beach closures; erect fencing to prevent people entering
• Adequately police beaches to ensure compliance with regulations, especially those relating to dog walking, and undertake a review of existing regulations to assess whether there is room for improvement.
• Educate the public in research, monitoring, management and advocacy efforts.

Is council considering any further restrictions on car access at Sellicks or Silver Sands or any of the measures proposed by Green Adelaide?

Response

Comments attributed to Acting Director Operations, Matt Buckell

Community engagement for the proposed Sellicks Beach bollards showed strong community support, including from Green Adelaide, which also commended the council for its ongoing collaborative work with BirdLife Australia and Green Adelaide on beach-nesting bird conservation.

Our current controls for vehicles on the foreshore strike a careful balance between beach access – particularly for those with disabilities and to address limited on-street car parking – and the risk of harm to the environment and beachgoers safety.

We also regularly evaluate our approach to vehicles on beaches, including through a 2019–20 review of management of vehicle compliance on protected foreshore areas – which included community engagement. A further review was conducted in 2024.

Some of the measures mentioned by Green Adelaide already form part of our approach. For example, we remade foreshore by-laws in 2022–23, introducing Hooded Plover protection zones through new dog and vehicle-prohibited areas (prohibiting vehicles from within 20m of a sign indicating a breeding site, and requiring dogs to be on lead within 100m of a sign).

We also increased fees for offenders breaching our by-laws and entering vehicle prohibited areas. The fine is now $312.50 (previously $187).

Our community safety officers (or ‘rangers’) monitor our beaches every day during peak times to provide community education and enforcement controls on a range of matters including vehicle compliance, littering, dogs on leads during prohibited times, keeping a safe distance from Hooded Plover nesting sites, as well as supporting Marine Safety SA in its regulation of personal watercrafts.

We also enforce vehicle-free areas (including temporary signage and vehicle exclusions around Hooded Plover nest sites) and a seasonal beach closure south of the Aldinga Beach vehicle access ramp from 1 May to 30 September. Other roles and responsibilities include working with Hooded Plover volunteers to protect the endangered species.

There are no current plans for further restrictions on car access at our beaches, but we’ll continue to evaluate our approach to strike the best balance between beach access, safety and protecting sensitive areas of our coastline.

ENDS