Funding fight continues after Portarlington upgrade

PORTARLINGTON’S sporting clubs are celebrating long-awaited upgrades at the Portarlington Recreation Reserve, with new facilities now in place for football, netball, cricket and tennis.

Stage one of the reserve’s multi-stage master plan is complete, but three years after the City of Greater Geelong withdrew its $1.1 million commitment from the project, the future of the broader vision for the site remains uncertain.

The council pulled the funding in 2023, citing mounting financial pressures at the time.

The stage one works were delivered with $3.15 million from the Victorian government, supported by $600,000 in federal funding and a $14,500 contribution from the City of Greater Geelong.

The upgrades include a revamped pavilion with new facilities for women and girls, improved cricket infrastructure, scoreboards and expanded car parking.

Bellarine MP Alison Marchant said the shortfall had undermined confidence in the master plan and gave the impression the Portarlington community had been “left behind”.

“The City of Greater Geelong’s contribution to stage one is nowhere near the more-than $1 million originally committed under the master plan,” she said.

“That commitment formed part of the shared vision presented to the community and was fundamental to building confidence that the plan would be delivered in full.”

She said she had raised the issue directly with the mayor.

“It is time for council’s funding commitment to be reinstated, so that the promises made to the community are honoured,” Marchant said.

“I remain committed to working constructively with all stakeholders, including the City of Greater Geelong, on stage two to ensure the master plan can be realised as intended and that Portarlington receives the investment it deserves.”

Last week, the city launched the first stage of consultation for its 2026-27 budget.

When asked if the city had plans to restore its financial commitment to the Portarlington project, executive director of corporate services Troy Edwards said there were many worthy projects within the community that needed funding.

“We’ve recently opened our budget consultation process for the 2026-27 budget, and there are many ways for the community to tell us about which projects are important to them, including by joining a community panel or completing an online submission,” he said.

“All feedback will be carefully considered by officers as part of the budget development process.”