Geelong fly-fishing enthusiasts have some hope for the re-establishment of a derelict fly casting pond after 13 years of frustration.
The Belmont fly casting pond has been without water for nearly a decade, and for some years before that Association of Geelong and District Angling Clubs (AGDAC) has been pushing for the pool to be upgraded.
Stage one of the project involves the replacement of a defunct water pipe to feed water from the Barwon River into the pond.
Last month the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events Steve Dimopoulos gave local anglers some hope the pond may be up and running again soon when he approved $49,979 worth of funding for the pump.
AGDAC secretary John Hotchin has been involved in nearly 100 successful project grant applications for recreational fishing in the region during the past 25 years, raising millions of dollars for local angling facilities.
Having his signature on an application is not a guarantee for its success, but it comes close.
Mr Hotchin said now the water pump funding had been secured “the project will happen”, but that a modest project such as the fly casting pond should not take more than a decade to come to fruition.
“You’re not even digging a hole, because the hole is already there; all you’ve got to do, plain and simple, is build like a kids’ swimming pool, a foot deep, and then fill it with water,” he said.
“But we’ve had an enormous amount of frustration with the council over the last 13 years of this project.”
When Mr Hotchin began working on the project the pool was at least partially operational; filled with water, it had six wooden platforms for casting.
Funding of nearly $250,000 was secured through state and federal governments for an upgrade around six years ago, but the project ran into roadblocks at City Hall.
Plans submitted in permit applications by AGDAC were not approved by council, with the association forced to find $50,000 for the City of Greater Geelong (CoGG) to draw up its own plans.
Just one business day after notifying council the water-pump funding had been approved, CoGG removed the wooden casting platforms due to safety concerns.
Mr Hotchin said as it stands, AGDAC still doesn’t have approval for CoGG to build the pond.
“If we had the pond there last year… we would have held the Victorian (Fly Casting) Championships and the Australasian Championships here in Geelong,” he said.
“With the council (sporting) grant (round) that is coming up, I would love to say by the end of this year that we’ve got the pond either completed or well on the way. I’m not giving up until this project is complete. It will be completed, but not without a lot of frustrations.”
CoGG executive director of City Life Anthony Basford said the City had “supported the club through a community infrastructure grant to facilitate planning.”
“We appreciate this has been a long process, and we are pleased to see that they now have detailed designs and the approvals required to move forward, and we look forward to seeing this project come to fruition,” Mr Basford said.
