Port Report - Cr Jim Mason 1 Aug 2018

It’s been another busy month for Council, and I’m pleased to update you on a few local projects that are now gathering momentum:

Parks Hall upgrade

The City of Greater Geelong has been working to create a community hub at Parks Hall, which will become home to the Portarlington Neighbourhood House.

The project will see a $200,000 upgrade of the hall to allow for its extended use.

Having recently finished some initial works to make the building compliant, we are now finalising a lease with the Bellarine Bayside Foreshore Committee to take over management.

An architect is completing detailed design of the upgrade, and once this is done we’ll run a tender process to appoint a builder. Construction will then take around six months.

We thank both the Bellarine Bayside Foreshore Committee and the Portarlington Neighbourhood House for their efforts in collaborating on this project.

We’re looking forward to seeing the Neighbourhood House move into its new home within the next year.

Speed limit on The Esplanade

In response to recent feedback from a local resident, the City and VicRoads are reviewing the speed limit along The Esplanade in Portarlington to decide if it should be lowered.

The current speed limit of 60 km/h met the previous guidelines set by VicRoads, but those guidelines have now changed.

The new ‘safe system approach’ takes into account factors such as road characteristics, crash risks, seasonal variations and the potential presence of vulnerable road users.

City staff will also assess all hazards along the road to make sure there are warning signs everywhere they’re needed.

This work is happening over the coming months – we’ll keep you informed of the results.

Indented Head land swap

It was great to catch up with Ingrid Novosel of the Indented Head Community Association after the recent announcement that an ecologically important area on the western edge of the town would pass into Council ownership, protecting it from development.

Ingrid told me that the 13-hectare parcel of land is home to a huge diversity of remnant vegetation and a wide variety of bird life, including habitat for the Orange-Bellied Parrot.

It’s terrific that we’ll now be able to maintain and protect this significant land, and we’ll consider developing a master plan for the area as part of next year’s budget discussions.

We’ve received the land from developer Mira Ira Pty Ltd in exchange for a 3.9 hectare vacant reserve nearby.

Well done to Ingrid for her persistence and hard work on this project – she’s been campaigning for this outcome for nearly 20 years!

And finally, a quick mention of the ‘Use it or Lose it’ campaign organised by the Northern Bellarine Transport Action Group, which I was pleased to support.

This campaign encouraged local residents to use the bus, and was funded with a City of Greater Geelong Healthy and Connected Communities grant.

A very worthwhile initiative – well done to all who took part.