Study to address future growth of Portarlington

WE are almost ready for daylight saving to come to an end for another year, which is often seen as the symbolic close of summer.

But despite that, things don’t slow down along the Bellarine and there is still plenty happening in this neck of the woods.

Earlier in the month I had the privilege of visiting the new Drysdale Community Hub in Eversley Street.

Located on the site of the former Drysdale childcare centre, the recently completed community hub is already accommodating the Drysdale Senior Citizens along with the Festival of Glass, an initiative of the Drysdale & Clifton Springs Community Association.

The hub will be particularly important for the Drysdale Senior Citizens, who have relocated from what will become the site of the new Drysdale Library, which council has injected $8.656 million into across four years.

Consultation with the Project Reference Group was an important step in informing the re-design of the hub facility for broader community use as it will accommodate the needs of multiple community organisations.

Facilities such as the Drysdale Community Hub are vitally important in promoting community connection.

We have long understood the importance of connectedness to good mental health and wellbeing and it is so important that all members of the community experience a sense of connection.

This hub will go a long way to engaging many people from across Drysdale, Clifton Springs and surrounding suburbs, which ultimately benefits everybody.

Further around the bay the City of Greater Geelong is engaging directly with key stakeholders and the wider public as we begin a study into the types of services and facilities required by the Portarlington community.

Council dedicated funding to a study in the 2021-22 Budget to investigate the community facilities and services needed to address the growing Portarlington population.

The consultation process will gather crucial data and provide valuable insights into the community’s current and future requirements.

Over the next six months the study will investigate the options for facilities, services and programs in Portarlington and council wants to hear from as many people as possible about what they see as the needs of the area.

Smaller townships across the Bellarine Peninsula form an important part of our municipality and we want to ensure everyone in our region has equal access to the services they require.

All feedback received from the consultation and stakeholder workshops will be taken into account and used to assist in planning for the future.

We want to better understand the future demand of services so we make the right investments when and where they are needed the most.

Portarlington is already the festival town of the Bellarine, being home to both the Portarlington Mussel Festival and the National Celtic Festival, which will be here again before we know it.

Both of these events are major tourism drivers to the region and deliver enormous economic benefits to the Bellarine community.

The strength of the Port Ferry service is also a wonderful addition to the town as workers in Melbourne now have a viable transport option that allows them to leave the car at home.

This service also continues to attract those from the state capital to come to our region and visit our renowned wineries, world-class restaurants and beaches.

But it is also crucial that council continues to deliver for residents and not just for visitors.

I strongly encourage you to visit the City of Greater Geelong website and follow the link below to get involved in this study, which will shape Portarlington’s future.

yoursay.geelongaustralia.com.au/UCFSPStudy

Cr Trent Sullivan
Deputy Mayor