Grey area group has final meeting

THE group overseeing the plans to redevelop Lorne’s Point Grey precinct have held their final meeting, and the works are now entering a detailed design phase.

The project steering group was convened by the Great Ocean Road Coast Committee (GORCC), and included representatives from the Committee for Lorne, Surf Coast Shire, Friends of Queens Park, Lorne Business and Tourism Association and the Lorne Aquatic and Angling Club.

The project aims to be shovel-ready by next year, ahead of the centenary of the start of construction of the Great Ocean Road in 2019.

Committee for Lorne chair Ian Stewart said there was a significant commitment by the group over its three meetings to ensuring a creative response to the design and redevelopment of Point Grey.

“We want Point Grey to be a reason people stop and stay in Lorne. These project steering group meetings were a great opportunity for us to unite, discuss, and ensure we’re going to deliver a project with great design elements that the people of Lorne can be proud of.”

GORCC chair Ken Northwood also thanked Liz Price from Great Ocean Road Regional Tourism, Ransce Salan of Surf Coast Shire, and Greg Leece from the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning who helped inform the project.

“There is a great deal of excitement around the spectacular Point Grey and what we can do there, which complements other projects on the Great Ocean Road by encouraging people to stop, spend and stay longer.

“We will now commence detailed design for the project, capturing all required creative elements.”

He said GORCC and the Lorne Angling and Aquatic Club had already committed a third of the needed funding ($2.3 million), and was seeking the remaining $4.6 million through the state and federal governments.

According to the Point Grey redevelopment business case, the project will create 30 full-time equivalent (FTE) construction jobs and 14 FTE hospitality jobs, and identifies significant local employment multiplier effects in the supply and servicing sectors.