PROPONENTS of a camping and caravan park near Lara say the park will have best-practice and environmentally sustainable design, and will not only celebrate the Lara area but also address the area’s urgent need for short-term tourism accommodation.<\/p>\n
Long-time Lara residents Dean Hinch and his family, along with several other Lara locals, have come together to lodge a planning application for a camping and caravan park after seeing their town miss out on what they describe as valuable tourism dollars and thousands of day-trippers because of limited accommodation options.<\/p>\n
“In addition to the 455,000 passengers travelling on the Spirit of Tasmania every year, there are almost 30,000 caravans and motorhomes, with nowhere near enough available accommodation,” Mr Hinch said.<\/p>\n
“Not to mention that Lara is a stone’s throw away from Avalon Airport, with 1.4 million passengers travelling through every year.”<\/p>\n
The $10.1 million development, which would be located at 325 Forest Road North between the You Yangs and Serendip Sanctuary, is proposed to provide high quality eco-tourism accommodation with a rural look and feel.<\/p>\n
The park will have 118 accommodation sites, including 56 cabins, 48 caravan sites and 14 camping sites, and feature viewing platforms to take in the surrounds.<\/p>\n
An olive grove will also be integrated into the development, enhancing the rural outlook and establishing a farming enterprise on the land.<\/p>\n
As well as the jobs generated during construction, the development will generate more than 30 ongoing local jobs to operate and manage the camping and caravan park.<\/p>\n
“The park will be a win for everyone, which explains why we’ve already received so much support from the local community,” Mr Hinch said.<\/p>\n
“We look forward to now receiving support and a timely decision from the City of Greater Geelong.”<\/p>\n
Public comment on the proposal closes on September 26.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
PROPONENTS of a camping and caravan park near Lara say the park will have best-practice and environmentally sustainable design, and will not only celebrate the Lara area but also address the area’s urgent need for short-term tourism accommodation. Long-time Lara residents Dean Hinch and his family, along with several other Lara locals, have come together […]<\/p>\n