This week, Bass Coast Shire Council has been given the green light from the Department of Environment, Land Water and Planning (DELWP) to continue the Inverloch Surf Parade Shared Path from Veronica Street to Ozone Street, including almost 80 formal car parking spaces.
Cr Brett Tessari said while breaking the final section into two stages might not be what Council or our community had hoped for, it is a good solution to enable some progress on the path while the Regional and Strategic Partnership's Coastal Hazard Assessment (CHA) is still underway.
"We understand what a really important project this is for the Inverloch community and I'm happy that some progress will now be able to be made," Cr Tessari said.
"We've been working tirelessly to progress this project as quickly as possible and have been waiting for approvals for some time. This is a complex project due to the huge impact that coastal erosion is having in Inverloch. Finding a balance between this important pathway project and the impacts of the erosion has been difficult but I'm pleased that we can make some headway on this project."
While Council now has approval to build this section (from Veronica Street to Ozone St), the CHA needs to be completed before construction can get underway. Council anticipates the construction tender to be awarded in a similar timeframe to the CHA being completed, so construction can start after the Christmas break.
The next stage from Ozone Street through to the Surf Life Saving Club is being reviewed which will consider an appropriate design to comply with DELWP requirements.
