Skenes Creek Caravan Park reopens

THE Great Ocean Road Coast and Parks Authority (GORCAPA) has fully reopened the Skenes Creek Foreshore Caravan Park after upgrading the facilities.

The redevelopment, which began in August last year, involved the installation of two new demountable buildings at the caravan park, located six kilometres east of Apollo Bay along the Great Ocean Road.

The new facilities include a new reception building, and a new toilet and amenities block with kitchen facilities, compliant with the Disability Discrimination Act.

 

GORCAPA took over management of the previously privately-owned caravan park on December 1, 2020.

As part of the transition, GORCAPA carried an independent safety audit of the park and its facilities.

GORCAPA said the audit revealed several safety issues and hazards that required attention at the park, including removing the kiosk.

As a result, the caravan park operated at a limited capacity for the past two years. This drew the ire of the Skenes Creek Advancement Association, which said in December 2021 that the campground “has now been closed, derelict and neglected for months” and called for urgent works to “reinstate the campground back to a thriving year-round community hub”.

 

The redevelopment’s planning phase included consultation with the camping community and the Skenes Creek Advancement Association to ensure the works included facilities and features that were most important to them, and serviced the diverse needs of all users.

The works received a Marine and Coastal Act 2018 consent, planning permit and cultural heritage permit, which collectively guided the management of the site’s unique environment, social and cultural values.

GORCAPA says the use of demountable buildings demonstrated its commitment to best practice coastal adaption management as they allowed the authority to be responsive to future coastal hazard information.

“Like the Skenes Creek community and regular visitors to the area, we have been eagerly anticipating getting the much-loved Skene Creek Foreshore Caravan Park back open for business,” GORCAPA chief executive officer Jodie Sizer said.

“This project will deliver a vastly improved camping experience and amenity for the local community, and we are rapt to welcome everyone back in time for the peak summer season.”

Skenes Creek Advancement Association secretary Tim Cobb welcomed the completion of works.

“It’s great that the campground and kiosk has finally reopened. Really good for our community,” he said.

The project, built by Geelong-based construction companies SCAADA Group and Formflow, was funded by the Victorian government as part of the $18.197 million Great Ocean Road Visitor Experience Uplift grant to deliver improvements to the visitor experience along the Great Ocean Road.