Update on Portland Foreshore Multipurpose Building
Published on 26 October 2023
Glenelg Shire Councillors on Tuesday night unanimously voted to endorse Option 3 as the location for the design and construction of the Portland Foreshore Multipurpose Facility.
Councillors also voted to inform the community of the landowner’s preferred location and feedback regarding predicted sea-level rise risks.
Option 3 is the current location of the Portland Yacht Club and was the second most popular of the options considered by Councillors in October 2022, following consultation with the public and key stakeholders.
It only narrowly failed to be the preferred option – there was a 5 per cent difference between it and the most-favoured Option 1.
However, the landowner has since notified Council that Option 3 is its preferred site for the multipurpose building, due to concerns about sea level rise modelling for the Victorian coastline.
For the Portland Foreshore Multipurpose Facility to be built, it must receive a Marine and Coastal Act consent and for this to happen it has to be sited at Option 3 – it has been made clear that it can only be on the site of the Portland Yacht Club building.
The design must also ensure that the building can adapt to the anticipated increase in coastal hazards, including sea level rise, over the structure’s intended lifespan.
Given the coastal modelling there is also unlikely to be any further approvals for buildings on the foreshore in future.
The $6.2 million facility – for which Council has a $5 million funding agreement with the Victorian Government – now has a location where Council can apply to the landowner for design and consent approval.
It will be a true multipurpose space for the community, including the Portland Yacht Club, Portland Sports Fishing Club and retailers.
The Yacht Club’s existing building would be demolished to make way for the new facility and the Sports Fishing Club building would be demolished late in the construction program and returned to green space.
The Yacht Club would also have a designated exclusive use area, including a boat storage yard.
Council has consulted with stakeholders such as the Portland Yacht Club, Portland Sport Fishing Club, Traditional Owners and Portland Cable Trams, and those discussions will continue.
There will also be further in-person discussions with other stakeholders.
But as this building is for the whole community, Council has also opened it up for the public to have its say.
An information portal has been set up on the Your Say Glenelg website – at present it is still being populated with content but in the near future this will include concept images of the proposed building when they are available as well as a poll to gauge public interest on whether they want the building on the site, or not at all.
The concept plans themselves are not open for consultation – any major change would increase the project cost by up to $500,000, which is not funded by Council.
This feedback will be collected before a decision is made whether to go out to tender later in November.
Glenelg Shire Mayor Scott Martin said the feedback was crucial to the future of the facility.
“It needs to go where the existing location is and we need to work within that to make sure this project gets off the ground,” he said.
“Stakeholders have outlined several concerns and Council needs to work through those and is willing to work through those.
“We need to get some feedback so we can progress this project.”