GORCAPA reopens Lorne pool consultation amid concerns

THE Great Ocean Road Coast and Parks Authority (GORCAPA) has reopened the window for people to share their views about the lease to operate the Lorne Pool Precinct amid some community concerns.

GORCAPA manages the precinct’s land, which includes the Lorne Sea Baths, which is leased to Landcorp Foreshore Precinct Pty Ltd.

Although the existing lease ends on October 16, 2030, and GORCAPA received a proposal to renegotiate the lease, in line with the Leasing Policy for Crown Land in Victoria.

According to GORCAPA, this proposal “includes significant investment in, and development of, the precinct by the leaseholder”.

GORCAPA ran public notices in newspapers – including the Surf Coast Times – about the proposal and invited feedback, with the deadline to submit set at April 7.

However, on Friday last week, the authority announced the consultation period had been reopened and extended to May 5 “due to the range of community sentiment received during the initial period for public feedback”.

This included from the Committee for Lorne’s John Agar, who claimed in the Committee for Lorne’s column in this newspaper on April 7 that GORCAPA had been “opaque” about the renegotiation process.

“All this contravenes the rightful original community expectation when the pool fell to private ownership that it would be converted to a heated public asset… promises and assurances made long ago that have been blatantly ignored, unkept, and disregarded for two decades,” Mr Agar wrote.

The longer consultation period will be supported by an online webinar, which will be held on Wednesday, April 26 at 5.30pm; a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) list on GORCAPA’s website, and the publication of Landcorp Foreshore Precinct Pty Ltd’s precinct development proposal, which was to be made available online by no later than today (Friday, April 21).

The FAQ noted some of the feedback expressed dissatisfaction with how GORCAPA advertised the proposed renegotiation.

“Some responders indicated a more widespread advertising campaign would be effective in informing the community of the proposal. The Authority has taken this feedback on board and extended the period for public comment and commits to advertising future proposals more broadly.”

For more information and to read the precinct development proposal when it goes online, head to greatoceanroadauthority.vic.gov.au/Community-Consultation/Have-your-say/Lorne-Pool-Precinct-lease-update