PROPONENTS behind a plan to redevelop the \u201cCollendina\u201d hotel site in Ocean Grove believe their land should be inside the settlement boundary in the Bellarine Peninsula Distinctive Area and Landscape (DAL) program in the same way it is in the 2007 Ocean Grove Structure Plan.<\/p>\n
Developers have criticised boundaries proposed in the DAL\u2019s draft Statement of Planning Policy (SPP) for being too tightly drawn around Ocean Grove, but Seachange Village Nominees spokesperson Serafino De Simone said their objections were different to those raised by a team promoting the Oakdene West estate on the opposite site of the town.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve always been included in the boundary and Oakdene West has never been included in the boundary,\u201d Mr De Simone said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re a developed site and they\u2019re an undeveloped site, so there\u2019s significant differences.<\/p>\n
\u201cA settlement boundary is defined to include all urban uses, not just housing.<\/p>\n
\u201cOakdene West is about 11 times our size, and if you only take the land that is partially developed, it\u2019s about 16 to 18 times larger.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said the City of Greater Geelong council\u2019s resolution on August 24 to not support the exclusion of the land at 139-175 Bonnyvale Road from Ocean Grove\u2019s protected settlement boundary was proof that the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning\u2019s evaluation of the site was flawed.<\/p>\n
The Farming Zone land, which includes the hotel as well as the Surfside Motel and cabins, was included in the 2007 Ocean Grove Structure Plan with a designation to \u201csupport tourist-related redevelopment opportunities\u201d, but the site was never fully redeveloped and a partially constructed aged care facility now occupies part of the land.<\/p>\n
According to the DAL\u2019s Settlement Background Paper, the site is environmentally sensitive and forms part of a green break to Point Lonsdale.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile the site is not nominated for urban growth, retaining the site within the settlement boundary could result in a conventional residential subdivision, which is not a suitable outcome given the site\u2019s sensitivity,\u201d the paper states.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe site\u2019s existing use – as a hotel and for accommodation – does not require it to be within the settlement boundary, either to continue to operate or facilitate tourist-related redevelopment.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlso, while the derelict, partially constructed retirement village is urban in nature and unsightly, this is not a reason to turn the land over for conventional residential development.\u201d<\/p>\n
Seachange Village Nominees launched a website and petition titled BuildOurVillage last week.<\/p>\n
The website states the SPP will not only freeze their plan to rezone the land to a more appropriate designation and build a new and bigger pub with function spaces, but also prevent other proposed developments at the site, including a village green, wellness centre and tourism hotel as part of a bespoke eco-residential community.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
PROPONENTS behind a plan to redevelop the \u201cCollendina\u201d hotel site in Ocean Grove believe their land should be inside the settlement boundary in the Bellarine Peninsula Distinctive Area and Landscape (DAL) program in the same way it is in the 2007 Ocean Grove Structure Plan. Developers have criticised boundaries proposed in the DAL\u2019s draft Statement […]<\/p>\n