Trail trouble - Farmers red flag $7.7m path project

LOCAL farmers affected by the Bass Coast Shire Council’s plan to build a $7.7 million ‘Inland’ pathway, through their properties, between Inverloch and Wonthaggi, have made an 11th hour bid to stop the project.

Fearing disruption to agricultural production, risks to biosecurity and personal safety, they say they don’t believe the shire has given sufficient weight to the impact on farming when selecting the proposed route.

They’ve also raised concerns about the Inverloch end of the trail, over a “dangerous sweeping bend on Toorak Road” and the loss of remnant vegetation in the unused road reserves to be included on the trail route.

Their responses follow an announcement on Thursday, January 27, that the state government had allocated $3 million from its Growing Suburbs Fund towards the estimated $7.7 million cost of constructing the 14-kilometre shared pathway, inland between the two towns.

“The exciting project will also link into the Bass Coast Rail Trail at Wonthaggi, which will create a 57-kilometre trail from Inverloch through to Cowes,” said the shire at the time.

However, while the landowners agree they have been consulted about the implementation of the project, they say it was presented to them as a fait accompli.

“We have serious concerns about the potential for disruption to agricultural production, biosecurity, personal property and security as well as the destruction of countless kilometres of vegetation reserves,” said a spokesperson for Stuart Scott and family.

“The pathway crosses through our farm, cutting through the middle of the same title and dividing important infrastructure, like yards and equipment, from the Angus cattle grazing operation.

“It will adversely affect the ongoing use of what is a very productive farm.”

Council voted at its September 2021 council meeting: “That Council authorise a submission to the current round of the Growing Suburbs Fund for the Inverloch to Wonthaggi Trail Project and allocate $4.7 million towards the project.”

But, according to Mayor Cr Michael Whelan, while the application was based on priorities in the shire’s Aspirational Network Pathways Plan of 2016, and proper community consultation about that network at the time, he acknowledged Council wasn’t in possession of environmental impact and economic impact studies at the time they made their decision, nor did they have a business plan indicating how many people might use the inland route in the future.

He also acknowledged he hasn’t visited the site to see what native vegetation might be lost.

“If there is vegetation removed, we’d be expected to offset that loss the same as anyone else,” Cr Whelan said.

“This is as much about active transport routes as recreation. We want to be encouraging people to get out of the car and on to their bike. We’d like to see a network of these trails.”

However, Cr Whelan denied the project would be built “at any cost”.

“It’s in the budget and by council voting to go out and apply for funding, I’d say we’re committed to building it yes, but obviously if any major issues did arise affecting that, we could review it yes.”

But Cr Whelan denied building an inland trail would make a coastal route, between Inverloch and Cape Paterson, such as the one detailed in the State Government’s Yallock-Bulluk Marine and Coastal Park Access And Infrastructure Plan, any less likely to go ahead.

“Developing a cycling and walking trail around a tumbling coast like the one we have there would not be easy but no, they’re not mutually exclusive at all,” he said.

“The Yallock-Bulluk trail is the State Government’s idea not ours, but I say bring it on.

“It wouldn’t necessarily be what people think, along the top of the sand dunes, right on the coast, but you’d bring people back to those ‘Wow’ spots along the way.

“I hope it does get up,” he said.

However, a former member of the Stakeholder Reference Group SRG) for the Cape to Cape Resilience Project, long-time Inverloch resident Max Wells, believes the emergence of funding for the inland route is simply a way for the State Government to bow to pressure from local greens not to touch the coast.

“I was told by a Parks Victoria official, at a community consultation in April last year, that a cycling and walking path would never go around the coast between Inverloch and Cape Paterson, that it would be going inland. And that’s what they are trying to do,” Mr Wells said.

“I’ve got nothing against an inland route, I love all sorts of trails that get people out and active, but where funds are scarce and they are, you’ve got to base your decision on the triple bottom line, and a potentially world-class route around the coast, that a lot of people will want to use, is clearly the way to go,” he said.

Mr Wells said that far from posing a risk to the Bunurong Coast, the development of a trail could include measures that would support and enhance the natural environment, as well as making the route safer for cars, bikes, walkers, while also providing an opportunity for people with a disability to get access to a spectacular coast.

Here’s what the State Government’s Yallock-Bulluk Marine and Coastal Park Access And Infrastructure Plan says about the coastal trail:

“The access and infrastructure plan [AIP] promotes a complete walking and cycling trail connecting the 40km of coastal landscapes between San Remo and Inverloch and providing improved visitor amenities to better engage with attractions along the coast.

“The AIP focuses on the trail and associated visitor experience infrastructure. It has been the first step toward establishing a marine and coastal park that will: ? Reposition the existing and proposed experiences into an attractive destination; ? Diversify the number and type of visitors attracted to visit the coast; ? Provide a diverse range of experiences for visitors to enjoy.”

These might include encouraging people to visit the proposed dinosaur trail and Eagles Nest but also the towns and business centres along the route.

Deep in the AIP report, on page 78, is however a potential get-out clause for the Bunurong Coastal trail:

“The Cape-to-Cape Resilience Project is investigating the erosion and inundation of the coast at Inverloch and surrounds through a coastal hazard assessment (CHA) and extensive community engagement. The CHA will provide advice about the existing and predicted coastal processes and the recommendations will inform the future planning for other road connections. This will provide guidance around the future for the trail along Bunurong Coastal Drive.”

Local Bass MP, Jordan Crugnale, said she was keen for the implementation of the Yallock-Bulluk plan to go ahead, via a $19.6 million project fund but acknowledged the future of the trail between Inverloch and Cape Paterson would have to wait on the outcome of the coastal hazard assessment process.