Community supportive of reserve plan

THE PORTARLINGTON Recreation Reserve Draft Master Plan has received strong interest and a generally positive online response from the community, with a drop-in session planned next month for anyone who wants to share their views in-person.

After 42 days of engagement, the City of Greater Geelong’s Have your say page on the project had received 3358 views, 229 contributions were received and 68 people completed the survey.

Eighty-eight per cent of respondents were either “very supportive” or “supportive” of the overall draft master plan, with five percent indicating they were not supportive.

The reserve draft master plan aims to protect the park’s values and character, while guiding sporting facility upgrades and how funding will be spent over the next decade.

The draft was approved for public release at the June council meeting, followed by six weeks of community consultation from July 30 through to September 10, and plans for a face-to-face session in November when COVID-19 restrictions end.

Of the survey respondents, 44 per cent said they were a general user of the park, 17 per cent were members of a sporting club, and six per cent were associated with a community organisation.

The online survey indicated that the Portarlington community used the reserve on a regular basis, with 65 per cent of respondents visiting at least once a week.

Twenty-five per cent of people visited the reserve to connect with nature, 21 per cent played organised sport, 15 per cent went there to walk, or walk their dog, and 10 per cent went there for another activity.

Feedback across all online engagement showed strong support for upgrading facilities and maintaining the passive recreation area, with 34 per cent supporting the upgrade of existing facilities within the recreation area, particularly the sports pavilions as a matter of priority.

Responses from the community will be collated and reviewed, and together with any recommendations for changes, will be presented to the council for approval and adoption in the coming months.

An updated summary report of feedback and the changes made to the plan will be published on the council’s website, with more information about next month’s community drop-in session expected to be confirmed soon.