Warrnambool architect Neil Holland has unveiled his vision to "futureproof" the foreshore as part of a move to get the ball rolling and kickstart community discussion on what next for the area.

His ideas would see a new AquaZone built as part of a new Surf Life Saving Club facility - an ageing facility that has been deemed well past its used-by date. "Numerous locations throughout Australia have pools adjacent to the beach including Lorne, Cairns and Sydney," Mr Holland said.

The future of the foreshore is a community discussion the city's mayor Richard Ziegeler is keen to see happen. "This council always welcomes constructive and helpful comment and input from the community, especially when it concerns topics about which we have been talking," he said.

"We're always asking for public consultation and it's not surprising that the foreshore is a favourite subject for many, particularly at this time of year so it's heartening that Neil has seen fit to contribute."

Cr Ziegeler said the council's advocacy plan for 2021 covered a number of the items referred to by Mr Holland and it would seek more input from the community.

Mr Holland has detailed his big ideas and shared them with both the council and The Standard as a way of starting community discussion.

There is already a masterplan for Lake Pertobe and parts of the foreshore, but so far those works have led to an upgrade of the car park, approval for a new toilet block near the McGennan's car park entrance and upgrades to play equipment, including a new, yet-to-be-built water play space.

Work is also yet to begin on the $3.5 million upgrade to the boat ramp - once voted the worst in the state - and funding has been promised to spruce up the storm-damaged breakwater. But millions in major works to shore up the breakwater, and other improvements in that precinct, are yet to be funded.

Earlier this month, the council set aside $200,000 for a feasibility study to investigate options for AquaZone's future, which include rebuilding it at a new site, relocating it or combining it with other sports facilities in a precinct that includes an aquatic centre, multi sports stadium and athletics track.

Mr Holland said with AquaZone and the surf lifesaving facility both needing revamps, it was time to look at the foreshore as an option.

He said he would like to see the AquaZone facility relocated to Pertobe Road and incorporated in a multi-storey facility located between the current lifesaving club and McGennans car park.

The top floor would overlook the ocean and the lower level would overlook the new pools. A new centre could incorporate a restaurant and kiosk all in the one complex, he said. Including a water park in the multi-use facility could also be put on the agenda.

"If you're on the beach and the weather turns around you can just go over the dunes and go to the pool and you're going to be sheltered from the south-westerlies," Mr Holland said.

But the whole idea would require relocating some of the cabins at the council's holiday park to make way for more car parking facilities.

If this idea was given the tick of approval it would mean having to find a new home for the summer carnival.

Mr Holland has a few options in mind. "You could close off Price Street and it could go down there - there is sufficient room there," he said. Or moving it across the road near the mini-golf where the markets are currently held, or near the Army Barracks site on Pertobe Road.

He even suggested relocating the army barracks to the industrial estate to free up that land for tourist development.

With extra facilities along the foreshore likely to bring more traffic, Mr Holland suggests a third access road to the foreshore along the old railway line extending from the end of Henna Street.

"An overpass at the southern end of Henna Street similar to Pertobe Road would provide uninterrupted access across the railway line and views over Lake Pertobe to Lady Bay," he said.

"You could just have another crossing because there's hardly any trains that go out that side of town...but some of the bureaucrats may not be in favor of putting another crossing so close to the existing one."

Another option was to build a road that swept back around once you went over the existing crossing which connected down to the Lady Bay roundabout, he said.

Mr Holland, who was involved with the technical and community reference groups associated with the council-run safer harbour project during 2015-16, said works to make it safer for boat launching and retrieval could ultimately bring more tuna boats to town.

He said another access road would help ease congestion with Pertobe Road traffic already at a standstill during peak times. "The mix of large volumes of traffic, vehicles with caravans, boats and horse trailers with pedestrian, cyclists and young children is hazardous," Mr Holland said.

"It gives them a more direct access straight down to the breakwater. They don't need to go down Pertobe Road."

He said the congestion created access issues for emergency service vehicles. Another road to the foreshore is not a completely new idea. A year ago it was raised by a Warrnambool resident who also suggested a bridge over the rail line at the end of Henna Street to access the foreshore, something he estimated could cost $10 million.

Mr Holland said he was keen to prompt the council to rethink the whole area to cater for future growth and to come up with some innovative ideas to future-proof the area. "Warrnambool's population is growing and will continue to grow and you need to be ahead of the pack and do things down there that are going to cater for that growth and make it attractive for people to go down there," he said.

"As an architect you are trained to think outside the square and do things a bit differently and challenge the way people perceive things.

"If they are going to be building a new surf club, there is an opportunity to combine both facilities. There's the potential to have a lot of shared facilities."

Mr Holland, who is a Warrnambool surf lifesaving club member, has shared his ideas with the surf club. "I think there is a lot of merit in it," he said.

"If you had an AquaZone there, it would be absolutely pumping."

Mr Holland said that as a kid, Lake Pertobe was just a swamp and over decades it had been turned into a major tourist drawcard.

"We've got to look ahead. We've got to future-proof the area," he said.

He said a multi-use facility at the surf club could come with self-storage units for hire where families could store their surfboards, or personal trainers could store equipment.

Share facilities, he said, would bring surf lifesavers, beach lifeguards and pool lifeguards under the same umbrella all working together in cases of emergency.

But what would become of the existing AquaZone site? Mr Holland thinks it could be redeveloped into a two or three-storey medium density housing complex with a mix of privately owned and social housing. He said income from the sale of the dwellings to the private sector could help offset development costs and subsidise the provision of social housing.

IN OTHER NEWS:

Now just one tap with our new app: Digital subscribers now have the convenience of faster news, right at your fingertips with The Standard:

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content:

Have you signed up to The Standard's daily newsletter and breaking news emails? You can register below and make sure you are up to date with everything that's happening in the south-west.