Caravan Park Upgrade - Torquay
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Information about the upgrade of the Torquay Foreshore Caravan Park.
Background
In early 2009, GORCC submitted an application to the State Government seeking approval (in accordance with the Crown Land Reserves Act) to borrow $9m to deliver the full upgrade of the Torquay and Lorne Foreshore Caravan Parks over the ensuing two years. Whilst the park upgrades have received relevant State Government approvals, the borrowing application was not successful as it was considered inappropriate for GORCC to borrow funds for the full cost of the upgrade (which includes approximately $6m in infrastructure works and $3m in new cabins for the two caravan parks).
As a result, GORCC has now revised its plans to deliver the park upgrades, focusing on staging the works in both the Torquay and Lorne Foreshore Caravan Parks over the next 10 years, instead of the 2-3 years previously proposed. GORCC intends to allocate up to $1m per annum of its funds over the next 10 years to deliver the upgrade, supported by State Government grants and borrowings for new cabins (see below).
A new amenity block was opened in December 2009 to replace the old ‘main’ block built over 40 years ago. The new amenity block is purpose-built to meet camper needs and includes a light, spacious and well-ventilated interior to enhance camper comfort and safety, separate baby change facilities and designated facilities for people with disabilities. New, energy-efficient water heating units provide continuous hot water for showering and laundry duties with low-wattage light bulbs, flow limiters on all water outlets, shower timers and rainwater tanks servicing the facility’s toilets. The construction, by local builder Phil Jessen, features environmentally sustainable and recycled materials while the design, by local architect Tony Hobba, blends in with the park’s natural environment.
There are also new power, water and layout improvements to camp sites in two sections of the park, providing better supply to around 50 annual, seasonal and casual camp sites.
2010 Proposed Upgrade Works
On 21 December 2009, the State Government announced that it will provide $750,000 in new funds to GORCC for Stage 1 of a power upgrade in the Torquay Foreshore Caravan Park.
Stage 1 of this important project will deliver power supply improvements in the bottom half of the park (closest to the beach) through the installation of a brand new power system to service around 300 camp sites, replacement power heads where required, and power upgrades to four amenity blocks and existing cabins.
The power upgrade will improve power supply, reliability and safety throughout the caravan park, as well as meet a Powercor requirement to reduce the five current points of power supply in the park to one. It will be delivered in two stages, with Stage 1 to commence in May 2010 (to be completed by November 2010). The second stage to upgrade power to the rest of the park will be completed in 2012 or 2013, depending on upgrade funding availability.
Other upgrade works are also proposed to be undertaken in 2010 but won’t be finalised until an application to borrow funds to purchase and install new cabins is considered.
Nine replacement cabins are proposed to be installed in the Hill Zone. These will replace the ageing units and the ‘weekender cottage’. Other works in this section include new power and water services, and landscaping with indigenous plants. No annual or seasonal campers will be affected by these works. GORCC also hopes to install the first of 13 new cabins proposed for the Dunes Zone.
No final decision on cabin purchasing has been made, pending the outcome of the finance application. If this approval is granted, GORCC hopes to be able to purchase up to 20 cabins in 2010. If not, we will purchase a smaller number of cabins next year using our available cash resources.
Proposed Caravan Park Access Policy
GORCC is awaiting the release by the Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) of a new State Government policy pertaining to access to Crown land caravan parks. We will discuss this issue further with the Torquay Concerned Campers Committee once the new access policy is finalised.