New car park underway at the Eagle chairlift

23 June 2020

A large area of land has been levelled to make way for another car park at the lower station of the Arthurs Seat ‘Eagle’ chair lift.

Heavy earth-moving works are underway despite reports of the owner, Arthur Seat Eagle Pty Ltd, being placed in the hands of administrators last March.

It will be 4 years in December 2020 since the opening of the ‘Eagle’, to great fanfare at the time, at an estimated cost of $20 million.

The area of the new car park near the base station forms part of the Arthur’s Seat State Park. Managed by Parks Victoria, it is believed a permit is not required for works on land under its control.

As was the case during the permit process for redevelopment of the chair lift, car parking was not part of the proposal, but rather was left to the discretion of Parks Victoria.

Above: New works in progress near the Eagle’s lower station

Mornington Peninsula Shire Council (MPSC) issued a Notice of Decision in June 2014 for the redevelopment of the chair lift, with conditions attached.

Council’s decision was later upheld by VCAT after an appeal by local objectors who expressed concerns about the size of the chair lift stations, loss of vegetation, and the use of public parkland for commercial use.

In addition to endorsing Council’s decision to issue a permit, VCAT attached a total of 71 conditions to the permit.

It was soon after that the State Government took over from MPSC as the relevant planning authority for the project. Arthur’s Seat Eagle Pty Ltd has a 50-year lease agreement with the State Government.