Ashmore Arts expansion edges closer

ONE of the Surf Coast’s leading homes for the arts is a step closer to expanding after the Surf Coast Shire council endorsed a planning application from Ashmore Arts to construct eleven new buildings.

The proposal at the site behind Torquay that adjoins Spring Creek entails a series of buildings ranging from 2.4m x 4m art pods to craft sheds averaging in size of 6m x 9m and a large 12m x 12m workshop.

Ashmore Arts manager Stewart Guthrie said the application has been years in the making and approval at this week’s council meeting was a “big step.”

“Effectively what the council is saying is that they want the arts to grow down here, and for us it’s an opportunity to save a little bit of Spring Creek,” he said.

The council’s approval came with conditions, including that the proposed location of buildings be amended.

“They were just a bit tentative about how it will look from Great Ocean Road… we’re going to move five of the studios back a little bit, from being down in the valley, closer to where existing studios are,” Mr Guthrie said.

He expected a redrawing of the plans to take between three to six months and construction to start around Easter 2023.

“But I’ve been saying this for a long time.”

The location of the victory party for Save Spring Creek campaigners earlier this year, Ashmore Arts members and the community are actively working at revegetating the site.

“We’ve planted hundreds of trees to re-regreen the valley, but that will take years for them to mature, we’ve been plodding away for the last three years with a lot of help from the community,” Mr Guthrie said. “The people that are attracted to this area are young, vibrant, go get ’em people and they do a really good job.”

Once construction is complete, the centre area will be one of the region’s largest centres for working artists, as the next-door property puts the finishing touches on arts studios of its own.

“The Grossmans have put in seven studios, we’ve taken down fencing so the artists can intermingle…by the time the Grossmans get up, there’ll be something like 50 working artists at the end of this road,” Mr Guthrie said.