WORK began this week to save shrinking beaches at Aspendale and Mentone with thousands of tonnes of sand being added to the foreshore.

The $680,000 project will see sand from Mentone that had been washed down to Mordialloc trucked back to Mentone, while Aspendale beach will be renourished using sand sourced from a quarry in South Gippsland.

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Carrum state Liberal MP Donna Bauer said the State Government and Kingston Council were determined not to see a repeat of a controversial renourishment at Half Moon Bay last year, which saw residents protest against the use of sand that was darker and different in consistency to the natural sand on the Black Rock beach.

"The sand being brought in for Aspendale is of a very high quality and highly compatible in terms of colour and feel with what's already there," she said.

Sandringham state Liberal MP Murray Thompson said the renourishment would enable the beaches to be used all year round.

Kingston Mayor Cr John Ronke said sand renourishment was important for the future of the coast.

"We're very lucky in Kingston to have 13km of foreshore to enjoy all year round, especially in summer when our beaches attract thousands of visitors," he said.

"However, in Kingston there is an overall loss of sand to the south as a result of wave direction, which is why these works are necessary."

The works on both beaches began on Monday and will take up to six weeks to complete.

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TELL US: Quality sand nourishes Aspendale and Mentone beaches