Developers renew creek push

TORQUAY’S land war is heating up sharply again, with Christian College and developer Amex ramping up their campaign to have the town’s west approved for housing and a new school.
In a flyer to school parents, Christian College has accused Surf Coast Shire of an “incomprehensible” lack of support and reprised Planning Minister Matthew Guy’s attack on it as “the most incompetent (local council) in the state”.
Amex has been soliciting signed statements from Torquay residents on their opinions about the council, councillors and development.
The new campaign has begun as the shire exhibits its draft C66 amendment, ruling out housing west of Duffields Rd in Spring Creek.
The Christian College flyer asked “parents, relatives, friends and members of the Surf Coast community” to actively support the school bid.
“We believe the silent majority is not being heard on this issue,” the flyer stated.
“To defer allowing the process for a new school to even commence is simply nonsensical.”
The school argued it had 300 children from the Surf Coast area travelling into Geelong to attend the college’s Highton campus.
The school restated its arguments the proposed site had been designated “future urban growth” since 1980, shire planning officers had told the college the site “met all the requirements for a school” and that the proposed campus fitted within previous shire development plans.
Cr David Bell, previously an outspoken critic of developing the western Spring Creek area, told the Independent he understood the college’s case but said the town had changed significantly since 1980.
“To jump in and say ‘Just build it’, that’s not sensible planning. The decision we take now will affect the town and how it grows for the next 30 years.
“I’m sick of people harping on. Every community has a right to its say in planning.
“This isn’t about just 300 kids but 11,000 people.”
A spokesperson for Amex, proponent of a Torquay Green residential development, said the survey was a way to “better-understand community needs and concerns’’.
The family behind the company had a “strong track record in high quality, sustainable, community focused land development”, he said.