By NOEL MURPHY
A CHOCOLATE factory at Bellbrae has moved a step closer to reality after earning Surf Coast Shire planning department approval.
The department said the Elkington Rd chocolaterie would create almost 60 jobs and make gourmet, centred and truffle-type chocolates as well as choc bars and moulded chocolate eggs and animals.
The business would have a cafe serving a range of chocolate-themed foods.
The facility was tipped to become a tourist destination in its own right.
The Great Ocean Road Chocolaterie and Ice Creamery will be based on a similar project the same company opened in Yarra Glen two years ago and which now has 450,000 visitors a year.
The Bellbrae facility would use imported chocolates combined with produce, herbs and fruit, some of it grown at the site.
The committee set conditions it deemed would address 16 objections lodged on amenity, traffic, environmental and competition grounds.
A shire report said proposals that create tourism destinations away from the beach were “important in the economic and tourism strategies of the area”.
“They provide opportunities for visitors when the weather is not conducive to beach activities and encourage people to stay in the area for longer,” the report stated.
The chocolaterie will also have a showroom, a kiosk, a wintergarden, a function room and a production area.
Parking will be available for more than 200 customers and 30 staff.
The report said the facility would generate work for 57 full-time equivalent positions.
The figure included six qualified chocolatiers, currently employed on working visas. Chocolatiers generally come from Europe as training is unavailable in Australia.
The new centre is expected to include a training component in order for local workers to develop skills and experience.
The centre will occupy a six-hectare property at the corner of Elkington and the Great Ocean Rds.
