New plans for Winch servo

WINCHELSEA’S new service station is due to begin construction in mid-January and will incorporate new landscaping in place of extra parking.

Developer John Mirobito lodged an amended planning permit with Surf Coast Shire Council to allow a staged development, so work can start on the new BP station while inquiries continue to find a tenant for the adjacent motel site.

Meanwhile, new plans will replace car parks with natural features at the Willis Street site, which could provide links to the planned Winchelsea Arboretum Tree Trail.

Mr Mirobito said planners had worked productively with the council and community group Growing Winchelsea to refine plans to suit all parties.

“It won’t stop the works that are going on, they’re hitting the site running straight after Christmas in January,” he said.

“For the motel we’re still looking for a tenant. It doesn’t have to be a motel, if someone wants to put something else there then we’re happy to accommodate.

“BP didn’t really need the parking, so we removed it all and put in landscaping so when the walk’s completed they can meander through there if they want.”

Builders are planning for the new service station to be up and running around the end of April.

Mr Mirobito had initially targeted a finish date of this year, but roadblocks from lockdowns, weather and lack of interest in the motel tenancy have stalled progress.

The main street site has been a sore point for Winchelsea locals since the old BP station closed in early 2019.

Residents have complained of a lack of price competition with just one service station and the visual impact of a derelict site at the eastern entrance of town welcoming visitors from the Princes Highway.

Growing Winchelsea president John Tebbutt said the new station would address these concerns will also providing investment and job opportunities.

“It’s about a $4 million build. They tend to try and source labour and materials locally for construction. That will inject valuable finding into the community whilst that construction is underway,” he said.

“There’s likely to be something in excess of 20 jobs created by it. As I understand it, the proposal is a much smaller version than the original plan that was lodged.

“They’re most concerned to ensure that is it an attractive site, and they want to work without arboretum group, and they want to see if they can incorporate any ideas from that into this site,” Mr Tebbutt said.

Growing Winchelsea is investigating options for its Arboretum Trial, for which it received $270,000 from Surf Coast Shire Council for a feasibility study in December last year.

The planned walk would link with other pathways planned for near the Barwon River at Winchelsea and guide visitors to historic trees scattered around town, proving ecotourism benefits and improving health and wellbeing for locals.