Boundaries battle call

Jessica Benton
A BARWON Heads community group is pleading with residents to bombard a government-appointed panel with objections against expansion of the town’s boundaries.
Save Barwon Heads Alliance’s Steve Wickham said the community still faced “very considerable opposition” in its fight to stop urban sprawl.
“We’re deeply concerned that the community may have been given a false sense of hope because council voted against the plans but it’s not over yet.”
The alliance has been lobbying against controversially proposed developments on the town’s western fringe, including a Macafee family proposal for 1920 Geelong Road and expansion of 13th Beach Golf Links estate.
City of Greater Geelong’s previous council voted late last year in favour of a Barwon Heads structure plan that retained the town boundaries.
The panel will make recommendations on the structure plan before it goes before Planning Minister Justin Madden for final approval.
Mr Wickham expected developers and land owners to push “aggressively” for expansion of the boundaries.
“They’ll get out there and lobby council and government, so it’s time for the community to get involved and do what it can.
“This is a major planning issue for the whole of the Bellarine Peninsula. We need to reinforce there’s absolutely no need for more lot supply in Barwon Heads with nearby growth areas such as Armstrong Creek and Ocean Grove.”
Mr Wickham called on Barwon Heads’ new ward councillor to support the previous council’s decision.
“Andy Richards said he supported the adopted structure plan in his campaign. We’d expect him, as the ward councillor, to continue to support council’s planners and the community.”
Richard Macafee said he hoped to meet Cr Richards to tell “his side of the story” about the 1920 Geelong Road proposal.
“Now is the appropriate time to talk to him,” Mr Macafee said.
“We’ve always been happy to work in with what we think the town needs and we put that to the previous council and ward councillor Peter McMullin.
“Now we want the chance to do that with Andy.”
Mr Macafee said his company had yet to decide whether to present a submission to the panel hearing.
Cr Richards had not returned the Independent’s calls for comment before the paper went to press yesterday.