Revealed: Coast a 'no go' zone for $7.7m trail

BASS Coast Mayor Cr Michael Whelan said it was "great".

That's how he greeted the announcement by Bass MP Jordan Crugnale last Thursday that the state government was committing $3 million from its ‘Growing Suburbs Fund’ to a shared pathway, running 14 kilometres, between Wonthaggi and Inverloch.

The trail will hook up with other paths creating a 57-kilometre trail from Inverloch to Cowes.

But what many people who responded to the news on social media wanted to know is – will it go via the coast? Short answer "no".

• Brad Richards: Anybody got any idea where this path is going to be. Along the highway, along the coast or elsewhere?
• Sara Jane Love: So, no path to Cape Paterson?
• Luke Kewming: They can’t finish a footpath past Veronica St in Invy.
• Val McDonald: About time, but I heard Cape to Inverloch inland, not along the beautiful coastline!

The Bass Coast Shire Council has just published the proposed route for the new trail, boasting in its announcement that the new Wonthaggi to Inverloch trail will be “taking in spectacular coastal and rural views”.

But it will be nowhere  near close enough for any coastal views along the proposed Wonthaggi to Inverloch alignment.

“Council has allocated $4.7 million to complete the Wonthaggi to Inverloch trail, which will be constructed between 2023 and 2025, following unused road reserves throughout farmland, taking in spectacular coastal and rural views," it said in its media release following Ms Crugnale's announcement.

Apparently it was a hastily put together piece that failed to draw the distinction between there being no "spectacular coastal views" on the Inverloch-Wonthaggi section but plenty of such views on the existing Kilcunda and Phillip Island parts of the route.

From the time the path leaves the outskirts of Inverloch until it reaches Kilcunda, there are zero coastal views, spectacular or otherwise.

Then we learn the route for the trail was chosen in 2016-17!

“The proposed alignment, which was adopted as part of the successful grant application, was chosen during 2016-17 through the Aspirational Pathways Plan Development process (then called the ‘Connecting Bass Coast’ project.). Public consultation on the preferred alignment was part of this process.

“The Inverloch Wonthaggi pathway inland route was developed during the Aspirational Pathways Plan process. Community consultation was held from February 2017 to May 2017. During this period, three engagement methods were undertaken to ensure the whole community was given opportunity to ask questions and voice their support or any concerns they may have. Both broad and targeted engagement methods were undertaken to reach the diverse Bass Coast community.”

The online interactive mapping portal, they say, was visited 11,874 times.

So, while the path will provide a safe link between Inverloch and Wonthaggi, it fails to maximize the potential that a trail around the coast, between Inverloch and Cape Paterson, would deliver.

“This new pathway will provide a safe, off-road link between the communities of Wonthaggi and Inverloch and create a wonderful visitor experience, as well as give local residents another opportunity to experience Bass Coast,” said Cr Whelan.

The new link has nonetheless been welcomed by Amy Easton, President of the Wonthaggi Business and Tourism Association, although to be fair, she thought the route was via the coast.

“That’s fantastic and it’s also recognition that Wonthaggi’s not just the biggest regional town in the area, it also has a crucial role to play in the visitor economy as well,” said Amy.

“It’s going to be great, and not just for the visitors, it will be a great resource for the local residents as well to be able to get out there and walk or ride around the coast, all the way from Inverloch through Wonthaggi to Cowes if they want to.”

Ms Crugnale, definitely in election mode, made the announcement of a further $3 million for Bass Coast, matching the $4.7 million committed by the Bass Coast Shire to the Inverloch-Wonthaggi link, at the official start to work on the Cowes Cultural Centre last Thursday.

“I'm also very thrilled to announce $3 million from the latest round of the Growing Suburbs Fund, and it has been committed towards a new shared trail connecting Wonthaggi to Inverloch.

“So, that will mean a 14-kilometre-long cycling and walking trail to connect these two key towns,” said Ms Crugnale.

Sentinel-Times' comment

BASS Coast is one of the most iconic visitor destinations in Victoria, especially for the burgeoning south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne.

It’s no secret why they come here, and why the rest of us choose to live here. OK we love the rural views, the fresh air and the wide-open-spaces but let’s cut to the chase – we love the coast.

Those magnificent ocean beaches that run from Phillip Island to Wilsons Prom are what they come here for, what we most love about the region.

So, if people are coming here to enjoy the coast where do you think they want to go for a bike ride or a walk? Not up a cow’s backside that’s for damn sure.

Take out the likes of super-iron man, Phil Hanily, and his peloton of committed riders. They are always going to enjoy the Wonthaggi-Inverloch loop through Wattlebank and Cape Paterson.

But the rest of us, the punters, the families, the locals, the causal visitors; they’re looking to go for a ride or a walk along the coast and isn’t Kilcunda such a fantastic place for that.

So why in heaven’s name would they spend $7.7 million on a bike and walking trail between Wonthaggi and Inverloch that goes nowhere near the coast? It’s a woke-world gone mad.

They don’t want it to go near the coast because it’s too sensitive, presumably.

But when the Yallock-Bulluk Marine & Coastal Park was established, they promised access by the community would be a feature – it’s the perfect place for a riding and walking trail, linking up with the dedicated bike path that already exists between Cape Paterson and Wonthaggi.

They say the inland route was arrived at through extensive community consultation – but were you asked?

OK let’s do it now, where’s the best place for a walking and riding trail between Inverloch and Wonthaggi? It’s got to be around the beautiful Bunurong Coast, past Eagles Nest and all the rest.

Good on the government and the shire for committing the money but let’s get real. Please.