By Gill Cooper
Tension is brewing over a proposed Moolap wetlands project after State Government left the landowner, Ridley Corporation, out of the loop, a company executive has said.
Ridley Corporation’s chief financial officer Alan Boyd this week said government had failed to consult the corporation on the restoration project.
“Neither Deakin University nor the Ministry of Energy, Environment and Climate Change has had the courtesy of communicating with Ridley on this matter,” he said.
The 465 hectares of land referred to for the project were “exclusively owned by Ridley” or “subject to long term crown leases held by Ridley”, Mr Boyd said.
Ridley and developer Sanctuary Living in 2014 unveiled Nelson Cove, a $4 billion residential land development at Moolap with retail and marina components extending around Corio Bay .
Ridley’s plan was to remediate the Moolap land, open it to the public and create a new “world class” township.
It flagged two marina precincts, transport upgrades such as light rail, a main boulevard and more than 3.5 kilometres of public beaches.
The company estimated its proposal for Nelson Cove would create 5000 jobs over the next 20 years – 2000 construction jobs and 3000 permanent jobs.
But the recently-announced restoration project would likely have major impact on Ridley’s Nelson Cove plans, Mr Boyd said.
The extent is uncertain until the government releases its final Moolap Coastal Strategic Framework Plan, which includes the restoration project.
According to Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP), the closure of Alcoa Australia’s Point Henry operations in 2014 and “a proposal for the former salt works land” were key drivers for the preparation of the Moolap Plan, started in late 2014.
The plan’s study area covers a total of 1200 hectares of land and 10km of coastline.
Mr Boyd this week said there were “many different versions” of the Nelson Cove concept that Ridley considerred to be “commercially feasible” and which could “potentially accommodate specific requests from relevant parties”.
However these variations would be “subject to an update for land offset arrangement which are no longer available from the government”, he said.
Mr Boyd said Ridley and its partner Sanctuary Living still believed a development similar to plans on its Nelson Cove website could “deliver great value to the residents of and tourist visitors to the Geelong region”.
He said Ridley’s partnership with Sanctuary Living remains intact as they await the State Government’s release of the final Moolap Coastal Strategic Framework Plan.
“We are in a period of assuming responsibility for our own costs and operations until such time as there is an incentive to resume our partnership activities relating to the Nelson Cove project.”
A DELWP spokesman said the recently announced wetlands project “will need to be informed by the final Moolap Plan that is expected to be released shortly.
“The scope of the project may need to be refined dependent on the Moolap Plan and any proposed implementation actions.”
