BAY LAND FUTURE REVEALED
MOOLAP VISION UNVEILED
A GOVERNMENT plan to create a prized residential area for 10,000 people on the fringe of central Geelong will be kept on ice until US giant Dow Chemical pulls out of Point Henry.
The long-awaited plan that officially declares the Moolap wetlands off-limits to developers was released by the State Government yesterday as it took a long-term approach to transforming the 1200ha coastal stretch encompassing the historic Cheetham Saltworks and the Point Henry peninsula.
Considered a diamond in the rough for the future of Geelong, the Government’s vision is to create a world-class residential and tourist destination in what will be Australia’s largest urban renewal project.
Released by Bellarine MP Lisa Neville, the Moolap Coastal Strategic Framework Plan champions the environmental and heritage value of the wetlands and the former saltworks that account for about 550ha of the site.
“There will be no residential development, or any major development, in that area,” Ms Neville said.
“It will be an area for celebrating the environmental assets that are there . . . and protecting the wetlands and the significant bird habitats that exist.”
As envisaged in a 2017 draft of the Moolap plan, the tip of Point Henry that was once home to the Alcoa aluminium smelter will be transformed in to a residential community of about 2000 people and feature tourism attractions, hotels and resort-style accommodation.
There will be continuous pedestrian access around the Point Henry foreshore with water-based activities and a marina will be encouraged.
However, the plan is subject to more rehabilitation by Alcoa and, alongside other development considerations, it is expected it will take at least a decade until the site is ready to be populated.
A further 10,000 people may one day be housed in a new residential area in the Moolap east precinct but that, too, is destined for the distant future.
Dow Chemical Australia, which has operated a manufacturing plant at Point Henry since 1962, has been given the right of way and the precinct will not start to be transformed until it elects to leave.
In response to the release of the plan, it confirmed it was committed to keep operating at Moolap.
Dow’s Geelong site leader, Steve McConnell, said it understood the long-term planning intent of the framework “but it’s important to state that Dow ANZ has no planned intention to exit the site”.
“Our employees are pleased they can continue with their jobs and continue to function as an important manufacturing business in the Geelong economy,” Mr McConnell said.
The Moolap plan’s “southern precinct”, adjoining Portarlington Rd, will remain largely as it is as an area for medium to light industry.
Ms Neville sad the framework provided certainty for stakeholders, including existing businesses, about what could and could not be done in the area.
“It really is a once-in-alifetime opportunity to transform a very large area of land into something that will service the Geelong community for generations,” she said.
“I think we can build and maintain something absolutely spectacular there.”
The Government will now start preliminary work on developing a management master plan for the wetlands and former saltworks precinct.