Project overview
We've taken on delivery of the $3.69 million Improvements to Tourism Infrastructure at Kennett River project, funded through the Geelong City Deal.
This project will support the growing tourism and visitor economy by delivering public infrastructure and accessibility improvements through several initiatives.
The tourism improvements will include;
- A new public toilet and a new or upgraded wastewater treatment plant in the adjoining Kennett River Caravan Park; and
- Carpark and road improvements works.
The Geelong City Deal is providing $3.19 million, and the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action is contributing $0.5 million via a Visitor Experience Uplift Grant, bringing the total budget to $3.69 million.
This project is being delivered as part of the $500 million Geelong City Deal, a collaborative partnership to transform Geelong and the Great Ocean Road by the Australian Government and Victorian Government, and local council with the Authority and key partners.
Kennett River is a small coastal hamlet located halfway between Lorne and Apollo Bay. It has become a popular tourist stop to experience Australian wildlife such as koalas and native birds.
The large groups of tourists and tour buses have created pressure on this small community and its infrastructure, including increased traffic and safety issues in the precinct.
In 2020, Colac Otway Shire Council (Council) received funding through the Geelong City Deal to deliver tourism infrastructure improvements in Kennett River. Council prepared a site Masterplan, completed site investigations, designs for road and parking upgrades and for a public toilet and wastewater treatment plant, whilst leading consultation on the project up until mid-2022.
A review into the Geelong City Deal projects located along the Great Ocean Road was conducted in 2022, which paused progress. The review ultimately recommended a transfer of delivery responsibility for the three continuing Geelong City Deal projects to the Authority, aligning to our mission to protect and manage the region’s iconic coast and parks.
This included the highly anticipated $3.69 million Improvements to Tourism Infrastructure at Kennett River project.
We thank and acknowledge Council for their work on the project to date.
Community feedback is helping to progress designs for the project.
Beginning in May 2024, a new Community Reference Group (CRG) is providing input in the refinement of designs and the preparation of a draft Precinct Plan.
The creation of the CRG follows a wide range of engagement activities from late 2023, including surveys, online feedback and scenario workshops.
Through these activities, Kennett River locals, visitors and campers provided invaluable insights, with topics including:
- Congestion, traffic, buses, and pedestrian safety
- Development of an appropriate visitation strategy that caters for a sustainable mix and volume of visitors
- Bus access, licensing, and parking restrictions
- Further sharing of project information (e.g. technical assessments)
- Opportunities for greater community involvement; and
- Environmental considerations and respect for local wildlife
A full What We Heard report is now available here
We look forward to continuing these conversations as we work towards a draft Precinct Plan that respects Kennett River’s unique character and environmental position.
We expect to be able to share the revised Precinct Plan for public feedback in early 2025
The Precinct Plan and all proposed works must comply with the Marine and Coastal Act 2018 and Policy 2020, including recent guidelines such as the Marine and Coastal Strategy 2022 and Victoria’s Resilient Coast Framework.
- The Precinct Plan will take in most of the public land in Kennett River. It will include the Kennett River Caravan Park, the Kafe Koala carpark stretching down to the river and a small section of the Great Ocean Road.
- The Precinct Plan will reduce overdevelopment in the town by sharing caravan park facilities with the public, including the public toilet and wastewater treatment plant. This will also alleviate the issue of these facilities being located in the flood plain and near the Kennett River.
Have Your Say
Locals, visitors, and campers have provided invaluable insights into how we can deliver tourism infrastructure improvements in Kennett River.
We’re pleased to release a detailed What We Heard Report for the Opportunities and Constraints phase of the $3.69 million Geelong City Deal project.
In summary, we received 40 online survey responses, 34 additional pieces of online feedback to the proposed scenarios and more than 70 people took part in scenario workshops.
The feedback highlighted the following themes:
• Congestion, traffic, buses, and pedestrian safety
• Development of an appropriate visitation strategy
• Bus access, licensing, and parking restrictions
• Further sharing of project information (i.e. technical assessments.)
• Opportunities for greater community involvement
• Environmental considerations and respect for local wildlife
We’ll continue to work with the community to develop a revised draft Precinct Plan, which we expect to be able to share for public feedback later this year.
The Precinct Plan will take in most of the public land in Kennett River, including the caravan park, the Kafe Koala carpark stretching down to the river and a small section of the Great Ocean Road.
The journey so far....
Kennett River Family Caravan Park Masterplan
The Kennett River Family Caravan Park is the perfect place to relax with a book, catch up with friends, holiday with family or explore the local area.
Developing a Masterplan for the Kennett River Family Caravan Park is an exciting opportunity to find out what is loved while improving the user experience for years to come.
We wanted to find out what was important to you prior to delivering a draft master plan for the Caravan Park.
Community engagement for the Kennett River Family Caravan Park Masterplan is ongoing, with a draft masterplan due to be presented to the community in 2024.
A brief overview of engagement so far:
We wanted to find out what was important to campers, visitors, and locals to inform a draft masterplan for the caravan park. To achieve this, we have been collecting community feedback since December 2023 and will continue to engage as the design process continues.
In December 2023, as part of a wider survey on the Kennett River Precinct, we asked you general questions about your values and this is what we heard:
- “The park is pivotal to the community’s love of the Great Ocean Road. People who cannot afford to buy but who love the Great Ocean Road all the same should have opportunity, amenity, high grade facilities and welcome home feel.
- “There is a need to improve septic systems that meet EPA standards / guidelines.
- “Keep the focus on simplicity and natural elements.
- “Campers appreciate the caravan park’s family friendly atmosphere.”
On Easter Saturday (March 30) the team dropped into the caravan park to inform campers of key project information and to seek feedback on what they loved about the park and if there were any areas that could be improved.
In meeting with more than 90 campers, we heard the park is loved due to its natural environment, lack of hard infrastructure, easy access to the beach, fire pits, and the peaceful family-friendly atmosphere.
Suggestions included:
Precinct Planning
Since we took on the project in 2023, a few things have changed so our first round of community engagement was focused on finding out more about what you liked and disliked about the previous plan for the project and to provide information about what the future plans for the project will include.
The tourism improvements that we're funded to deliver will include a new public toilet and a new or upgraded wastewater treatment plant in the adjoining Kennett River Caravan Park as well as carpark and road improvements works.
The questionnaire for the first round of engagement closed on Thursday 18 January at 5pm.
Scenarios Workshops and ongoing community feedback
We had so much to talk to the community about!
So we continued the discussion via 3 community workshops. These workshops were delivered both online and face-to-face in Kennett River with 50+ participants taking part. Participants shared their thoughts on 3 draft precinct plan scenarios.
More than 30 community members had their say on the Kennett River Precinct Plan scenarios by submitting their suggestions and feedback below. Online responses were open until Monday 5 February.
We will be returning to Kennett River to discuss what we heard and next steps - watch this space!
These discussions will inform the Improvements to Tourism Infrastructure in Kennett River project, and the Precinct Plan for Kennett River that will include upgrades to the Kennett River Family Caravan Park.
A draft Precinct Plan will be released for community feedback in mid 2024.
