A “BOLD and visionary” draft masterplan for the Shipwreck Coast from Princetown to Peterborough has attracted guarded support from some Corangamite councillors.
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The draft plan proposes radical changes in the visitor experiences available to the tourists to the Great Ocean Road and the 12 Apostles, including “park and ride” hubs at Peterborough, Port Campbell and Glenample to give visitors a more leisurely experience.
The hubs would cater for walkers, cyclists and a “green-powered” shuttle bus and encourage visitors to stay longer, contributing more to the region’s economy.
Corangamite mayor Chris O’Connor said figures in the draft plan that showed the average day-tripper to the 12 Apostles stayed for just 40 minutes and spent only 18 cents in the regional economy revealed the big improvements that could be made.
Corangamite council this week gave its approval in principle to the draft plan, which Corangamite chief executive officer Andrew Mason described as “bold and visionary”. It is a joint project between Parks Victoria and Corangamite and Moyne shires and covers a 28-kilometre stretch of the Great Ocean Road coastline between Princetown and Boat Bay at Peterborough.
Cr Peter Harkin said while some people would view the draft blueprint as “a visionary thing” others might say “we have got rocks in our head”.
He said the draft addressed the problem of the south-west having “a great coast, (but) there is not a lot for tourists to do”.
“Many tourists do not go on to Warrnambool or Peterborough,” Cr Harkin said.
He said the plan was “a long-term thing” and hoped the state and federal governments would contribute funds to it.
He expected there would be resistance to some of the proposals, but “that’s called change”.
Cr Neil Trotter said he was pleased the draft recognised the tourism pressure on the Port Campbell National Park and that the hinterland had a vital role to play.
However, he considered the draft “a work in progress” and wanted to see ongoing community input into its development.
He was pleased the document “moves away from a silver bullet fix for tourism because the fixes for tourism are complex”.
ehimmelreich@fairfaxmedia.com.au