Council can’t neglect car parking

IN JUNE 2022, we received the Census 2021 data, confirmation that the population of Bass Coast had gone up by a whopping 24.3 per cent in the five years between 2016 and 2021.

We’ve seen that reflected in the number of dwellings built in recent years, the demand for residential land and now the announcement of several private-sector projects worth big money, including the $150 million retirement village in Cowes, and the $130 million hotel project on The Esplanade, also at Cowes.

And while we can’t be sure what VCAT will decide to do about the 42-unit residential hotel proposed for a central location in Inverloch, when they hand down their decision in five weeks’ time, one thing is certain, there needs to be a sense of urgency about providing the infrastructure to accommodate the population expansion.

The commitment of $30 million-plus by the shire council to the Cowes cultural centre project and the construction of $1.77 million Guide Park Redevelopment Project in Wonthaggi are examples of what’s needed but what’s going to happen in the centre of Inverloch if several planned projects go ahead there.

Not only will there be dozens of extra cars in the Inverloch CBD if the large apartment block goes ahead but there are also plans in progress for a similar treatment of the Wyeth-McNamara Park (Rainbow Park) and a major redevelopment of the Bunurong Conservation Centre, reportedly doing away with the small carpark between the Bunurong Centre and Rainbow Park.

Where are the additional people attracted to the park and the dinosaur centre going to go?

The same issues exist in Wonthaggi.

The obvious place to expand parking in the centre of town is at the Inverloch Recreation Reserve where its time carparking space was sealed and formalised.

seIn Wonthaggi, we’d like to see progress on a plan for the old secondary college site.