2020 Year in Review: October-December

OCTOBER 1: FIVE of the Geelong region’s biggest peak bodies collaborated on a list of specific projects and initiatives the state government should include in its coming 2020-21 budget. The five bodies say the projects and initiatives will benefit the region’s economic and social recovery in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, and enhance the region’s opportunity to stimulate jobs.

OCTOBER 8: THE Coalition said it had put jobs and investment at the heart of the latest Federal Budget. The Budget included $292 million towards the $365 million duplication of Barwon Heads Road from Settlement Road to Reserve Road and more than $600 million for stage 2 of the Geelong rail duplication between Waurn Ponds and South Geelong.

OCTOBER 15: BELLARINE police officers joined the list of personalities throwing a shaka for a Barwon Health Foundation campaign during Mental Health Month. “Shaka Up for Mental Health” urged people to send or share the popular surfing hand gesture to let someone know they are thinking of them this month.

OCTOBER 22: LIMITED household visits were now allowed and hospitality venues could host as many as 110 patrons in the latest easing of coronavirurs restrictions in regional Victoria. Geelong’s business and tourism leaders welcomed the changes – which go beyond the Third Step on the state’s coronavirus roadmap – announced by Premier Daniel Andrews on October 18.

OCTOBER 29: October 29 marked the one-year anniversary of the Bellarine being declared a Distinctive Area and Landscape (DAL), but the coronavirus pandemic delayed the next step in public consultation, including the promised draft Statement of Planning Policy. The statement was supposed to be produced within 12 months and is still yet to be released.

NOVEMBER 5: LOCAL accommodation providers and hospitality venues anticipated a surge in business when the “ring of steel” around metropolitan Melbourne was removed on Monday, November 9. Bellarine Bayside holiday parks manager Rod Newnham said the Premier’s announcement had greatly improved their prospects. “Our bookings are currently slightly stronger than they were for these months last year.”

NOVEMBER 12: PROPERTY values in Barwon Heads skyrocketed more than 600 per cent over the past two decades, and the ABC TV series most strongly associated with the town started it all. The REA Insights Regional Australia Report stated the coronavirus pandemic has resulted in shifts across many parts of the economy, including preferences and demand for housing.

NOVEMBER 19: THE bell rang for the long-awaited upgrade of Clifton Springs Primary School, with the school to receive $15.6 million to carry out the works. The pre-State Budget commitment was to fund new general-purpose classrooms, specialist facilities and amenities. Clifton Springs Primary School was built in the late 1980s, and the growing community meant there was an urgent need to modernise the school.

NOVEMBER 26: ST Leonards-Indented Head CFA was to get a new state-of-the-art volunteer fire station thanks to a $2.2 million state government funding boost announced on November 23. The new station on Murradoc Road would replace the existing 38-year-old building, which was in poor condition and lacked space to adequately accommodate vehicles and emergency equipment.

DECEMBER 3: AFTER a long and quiet winter, summer on the Bellarine looked set to explode with music and lifestyle events roaring back to life. And no one was more excited than Tourism Greater Geelong and The Bellarine executive director, Brett Ince, who felt there was increased opportunity with the swelling population and decreasing coronavirus restrictions.

DECEMBER 10: THE Wreck2Reef was to officially make the plunge next year in welcome news to open water swimmers across the region, following the cancellation of several other events. The swim will be capped at 500 entries, but with the likes of the Queenscliff 180 and being cancelled and the Pier to Pub going virtual, having the Wreck2Reef going ahead this year was a huge boost to the community and swimmers alike.

DECEMBER 17: THREE key emergency service organisations located on the Bellarine Peninsula were to be able to perform critical upgrades after getting access to state government funding. Point Lonsdale Surf Club, Ocean Grove Coast Watch and the Bellarine SES received a much-needed boost of $105,000 through the Emergency Services Refurbishment Fund.

DECEMBER 24: AN INDEPENDENT panel supported the amendment to facilitate a high-density development in Drysdale despite disapproval from the community and local MPs. Under Amendment C363, the City of Greater Geelong will rezone 28 rural living properties along Central Road to allow for 550 residential dwellings.

DECEMBER 31: THE BELLARINE Community Support Register continued to support the safety and independence of older and vulnerable residents as it has done for the past 12 years. The group, which has 1,400 registrants and 30 volunteers, is a free resource available between 9.30am-12 noon.