The Summerland Estate buyback was about protecting public interest against private encroachment, and it’s relevant to the Glade. Photo: Ed Thexton
By Ken Blackman
DECADES ago, you could camp in The Glade; the old stone shelter survives, but the sites that once stretched west for over a hundred metres are gone. All were moved to provide more and better camping – and to re-purpose focused public open space in a central location.
The way the township has slowly grown since, in activity and amenity, has left its central coastal zone as a key environmental asset. The Glade, part of that, is the town’s natural outdoor-gathering area. Its reasonable preservation – from environmental degradation, from built penetration and oversight-pollution - is clearly of primary importance to the town.
DECADES ago, you could camp in The Glade; the old stone shelter survives, but the sites that once stretched west for over a hundred metres are gone. All were moved to provide more and better camping – and to re-purpose focused public open space in a central location.
The way the township has slowly grown since, in activity and amenity, has left its central coastal zone as a key environmental asset. The Glade, part of that, is the town’s natural outdoor-gathering area. Its reasonable preservation – from environmental degradation, from built penetration and oversight-pollution - is clearly of primary importance to the town.
| In mid-May, the Victorian and Civil Tribunal pronounced on the objections brought by the South Gippsland Conservation Society (SGCS) to the proposed ’apartment hotel’ which would sit directly above The Glade. The proposal abused its location - in its height, its mass and in its arrogant assumption of the right to de facto use of the adjacent public land, both visually and psychologically. Incorporating VCAT’s modifications, the hotel could still build on around 90% of the total site, and to three storeys. It would still silently incorporate the coastal parkland in its own amenity. That is the major reason it’s proposed here and not elsewhere in the township! |  Hotel okay, but not the bar May 18, 2023 - Developer Forte Group has lost its battle to get a fourth storey and rooftop bar in Inverloch’s Esplanade while the South Gippsland Conservation Society has lost its battle to block the hotel altogether. |
By my assessment, this central broad ground for objection was too often lost, at VCAT, in the arcane expositions and legalisms from contending parties’ advocates and witnesses.
But set that aside: the site in question remains open, under the planning scheme, to private development. Bass Coast Council originally sought minor design and height changes. I would assert that Council had a responsibility to insist on nothing over two storeys, here, and on a ground-level set-back of several metres from the south-east boundary, adjacent to The Glade.
But set that aside here, too. Council’s purchase of the site for the public realm is clearly beyond its budget. What then can be done?
As SGCS President Ed Thexton wrote in the Post in February: “The Society sees this as a watershed development. [If it’s built], it will influence the trajectory of Inverloch … In the end it may be seen fundamentally as a clash of cultures or world views. Both the Conservation Society and the developer value the regional coastal village of Inverloch but from different angles.”
Could Bass Coast Council appeal to the Minister, seeking intervention? It is difficult to see that happening without prior local exploration of possibilities – thinking “outside the box”.
Could Council lead a process in which all affected - Parks Victoria, private owners and developers, and the Society canvass and examine ideas for solution, from the cautious to the novel?
We need a new deal. Where are our political representatives? Re-vision of the order required would need political endorsement and inevitably funding.
To produce a fresh omelette, eggs must be broken. Don’t forget that right here in Bass Coast, in 1985, the bad 1950s planning that allowed the 700-plus subdivision Summerland Estate was overturned by government, buybacks and all - and the whole Nobbies peninsula became a conservation zone. That was a far bigger decision than we face here. It took 15 years to complete, but who regrets that now?
Inverloch in 2023 deserves better than a slightly modified coastal monster. While Council should lead in the matter, it’s time for elected politicians to stand up and earn their keep in working for our community’s future.
But set that aside: the site in question remains open, under the planning scheme, to private development. Bass Coast Council originally sought minor design and height changes. I would assert that Council had a responsibility to insist on nothing over two storeys, here, and on a ground-level set-back of several metres from the south-east boundary, adjacent to The Glade.
But set that aside here, too. Council’s purchase of the site for the public realm is clearly beyond its budget. What then can be done?
As SGCS President Ed Thexton wrote in the Post in February: “The Society sees this as a watershed development. [If it’s built], it will influence the trajectory of Inverloch … In the end it may be seen fundamentally as a clash of cultures or world views. Both the Conservation Society and the developer value the regional coastal village of Inverloch but from different angles.”
Could Bass Coast Council appeal to the Minister, seeking intervention? It is difficult to see that happening without prior local exploration of possibilities – thinking “outside the box”.
Could Council lead a process in which all affected - Parks Victoria, private owners and developers, and the Society canvass and examine ideas for solution, from the cautious to the novel?
We need a new deal. Where are our political representatives? Re-vision of the order required would need political endorsement and inevitably funding.
To produce a fresh omelette, eggs must be broken. Don’t forget that right here in Bass Coast, in 1985, the bad 1950s planning that allowed the 700-plus subdivision Summerland Estate was overturned by government, buybacks and all - and the whole Nobbies peninsula became a conservation zone. That was a far bigger decision than we face here. It took 15 years to complete, but who regrets that now?
Inverloch in 2023 deserves better than a slightly modified coastal monster. While Council should lead in the matter, it’s time for elected politicians to stand up and earn their keep in working for our community’s future.