Corner Inlet Communities – the Shire released the Port Welshpool Marine Precinct Plan after spending thousands of dollars of ratepayer funds on consultant reports and have now shelved the plans.
Letter to Editor – Port Welshpool Marina
Open Letter to Editor and Council – Can we Get Serious About the Port Welshpool Marina?
Corner Inlet Communities – the Shire released the Port Welshpool Marine Precinct Plan after spending thousands of dollars of ratepayer funds on consultant reports and have now shelved the plans. The problem was the Council have only done a small amount of the work that’s needed and what they did present was not in accord with what was presented in the consultant’s reports.
For a start, the economic analysis indicated a 150-berth marina was the most financially viable option and not the 80 place size the Council presented to the public. Why was that? The plan presented to the public shows an area which is actually not large enough for boat handling facilities, launching and retrievals, dry storage, marine mechanics, boat repairs, chandlers, parking, accommodation, restaurants, coffee shops and other ancillary services.
If one looks at the Yaringa Marina (Somerville) and the Westernport Marina (Hastings) it is easy to see they occupy a much larger area – probably upwards of 10 hectares. These marinas also support something like 10 other small businesses and are a great tourist attraction. I have used the previous Council Marina location and now show a larger area in the attached photo that is something like what is actually needed.
In addition, the consultant reports indicated soil testing of the proposed harbour floor area and tide and wave studies were all required. From a developer aspect, we also need to resolve access to the site including native title issues, approvals from Parks Victoria, Gippsland Ports and have a clear path through planning approval. A prospective developer for a project of this scale needs to see that the hard work is done.
How do we fund this extra work? Easy! Just have Council exit management of the Yanakie and Port Welshpool Caravan parks and use the half million dollars saved to do the work on the Marina. At present Council are saying it is up to a developer to come knocking. That is not a positive invitation. We need to do all the hard work. A developer cannot even get a title to the proposed site so how could they entertain sinking $20 Million into our Shire?
The attached plan shows an area of around 10 hectares which is the area needed for 150 berths and all the other facilities and activities which could be developed at the Port. This Shire needs all the tourist dollars we can harvest. We also ask the various Business Associations to support this Marina – please get involved and do not sit on the fence. Please Administrators – do your job and make this happen.
Lindsay Love
Sec SGAG
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