$35 million Phillip Island street project dumped by council

A LONG anticipated $35 million road and drainage project for the Surf Beach Sunderland Bay area of Phillip Island has been rejected by a majority of the homeowners in the area.

On Friday, October 13, the Bass Coast Shire Council posted the following notice on its Engage Bass Coast website.

“The timeframe to make a submission and/or lodge an objection in regards to the Surf Beach and Sunderland Bay Road and Drainage Upgrade Project has now closed.

“We thank all property owners that have supplied feedback throughout this period. We would also like to thank all property owners that have assisted over the last 18 months of the consultation and engagement process to identify problems, develop concept options and select a preferred upgrade option for the community.

“The feedback that has been processed so far indicates that the majority of property owners within the estates have submitted an objection to the proposed upgrade project which means under the Local Government Act 1989 legislation, the project will not proceed.

“We acknowledge that some residents that supported the upgrade will be disappointed with the result. At this point in time, there is not enough support from the community to proceed further with the upgrade project. If there was a particular street or smaller area that at least 70% of property owners actively supported an upgrade project in the future, it can be considered in accordance with the Council’s Urban Road and Drainage Policy.

“We will now finalise processing of the feedback and prepare a report on the submissions and/or objections which will be released in due course.”

The ‘Say No to the Surf Beach Sunderland Bay SCS’ have welcomed the council’s decision.

“We now hope that as a community, we can finally work with council towards a more sustainable and environmentally friendly resolution,” said a spokesperson for the group Maxine Sando.

The ratepayers of Bass Coast have already spent more than $1 million getting the scheme to this stage, through various iterations of the detailed design work, and wide community and stakeholder consultation.

But it now appears to be dead in the water.

The Mayor Cr Michael Whelan, known to be strongly in favour of the scheme has not spoken about it since the announcement was posted on the Engage Bass Coast website on Friday.

And the effective gag on other councillors has left a cone of silence over the decision.

But sources within the council say the council is embarrassed that they failed to read the mood of the community so badly as to waste $1 million on finding out what they really thought.

“It’s embarrassing,” said a spokesperson close to the council.

“The majority of them didn’t want it from day one and telling them they were going to get it whether they liked it or not, because the project at Pioneer Bay was such a success, was never going to work.

“They’re not interest in Pioneer Bay. It’s a completely different issue at Surf Beach and Sunderland Bay.

“The shire should just get in there and spray sealant on the roads to reduce the dust and move on.”

What happens now. Nothing.

The council has offered to consider drainage and road works if specific streets can show 70% support but that process rarely comes to fruition.

It looks like the Surf Beach and Sunderland Bay estate streets will stay dusty in summer and flooded in winter, and the drains open.