EVERYONE knows San Remo has serious traffic and access problems.
The issue has been highlighted extensively for action in both the San Remo Access and Movement Study and Car Parking Plan (February 2025) and the Draft San Remo Structure Plan (March 2025).
And it’s a regular topic of conversation locally.
It’s a no-brainer that something has to change at the key intersections with busy Phillip Island Road at Bergin Grove, Back Beach Road, and Potters Hill Road where collisions or near misses are commonplace.
But there are also problems at Keam Crescent, San Remo Parade and Panorama Drive.
But whether these issues are given the prominence they deserve in the draft San Remo Structure Plan presently out for public comment, is open to conjecture.
It’s not the only thing covered in a wide-ranging document trying to address the needs of San Remo now, and over the next 20 years, when the town is predicted to grow by between 400 and 2100 additional residents.
But who will read the 131-page draft structure plan and its dozens of implementation priorities, or the 96-page access and car parking plan that goes with it, let alone the 74-page San Remo Urban
Design Framework ahead of responding to the survey on the Engage Bass Coast website, making a submission or attending one of two community engagement opportunities?
It’s important that those interested in the future of San Remo do just that.
Mayor of Bass Coast, herself a resident of San Remo, Cr Rochelle Halstead has encouraged local residents and businesspeople to take an interest.
“San Remo is such a wonderful place to live, and I want future generations to enjoy it as we do today. This plan will guide how our town grows while preserving what makes it special. I encourage everyone to share their thoughts to help shape its future.”
This is now the final stage of community consultation, and Council is seeking feedback from residents, businesses, and community groups to help shape the structure plan.
A range of community engagement activities will be held, including:
• Community session – Wednesday, March 26, 2025 from 6pm – 7.30pm
• Pop-up session – Wednesday, April 2, 2025 from 2pm – 6pm, Marine Parade San Remo.
Feedback on the San Remo Structure Plan is open until April 28, 2025. To share your thoughts, via submission or survey, visit engage.basscoast.vic.gov.au/sanremoplan.
You can also arrange a one-on-one discussion with a member of the shire’s Strategic Planning Team by calling the council on 5671 2211, or emailing strategicplanningadmin@basscoast.vic.gov.au
Key implementation themes:
• Incorporate Bunurong cultural values and language into public art, signage, building design, and place names.
• Advocate for the delivery of adopted intersection upgrade plans along Phillip Island Road by the Department of Transport and Planning.
• Facilitate the shift to renewable energy by conducting a dedicated embedded network study to assess options (large-scale solar, grid-scale storage, distributed generation).
• Support initiatives that attract new businesses and investment to San Remo, creating more job opportunities and increasing local incomes
• Within the growth front designate land east of Potters Hill Road for a potential future convenience centre.
• Continue to support and promote existing tourism initiatives.
• Investigate streamlining Local Government planning processes for housing developments that include affordable housing components.
• Undertake regular residential land supply and demand assessments in San Remo and identify current and future housing needs based on demographic projections.
• Ensure the San Remo growth area principles related to the land between Potters Hill Road and Punch Bowl Road are adopted and used to produce a structure plan following the finalisation of the Protected Settlement Boundary.
• From the ‘San Remo Access and Movement Study and Car Parking Plan’: Deliver a new east-west road continuing Shetland Heights Road from Potters Hill Road to Punch Bowl Road.