Port Campbell’s $15.8m town upgrade complete after months of delay and an extra $215K

Corangamite Shire councillors have approved an extra $215,000 to finish off the Port Campbell Town Centre Revitalisation Project, marking the end of the shire’s largest-ever infrastructure commitment.

What happened: The $15.6 million project began in August 2023 and has transformed the main streets of town, delivering wider main roads, new footpaths, shared pedestrian spaces and garden beds. 

• Other features include timber decking, picnic areas, bike racks, additional car parks and new Indigenous public art.

An official opening ceremony was held in town in August this year.

Waiting game: The project was initially scheduled for completion by late 2024. Delays were largely due to the discovery of asbestos piping, delays from utility providers and redesigns for the decking system around the Norfolk Pines in town. 

Council economy and prosperity manager Katy McMahon told councillors at the latest meeting that most works are complete, except for landscaping around the foreshore mosaic artwork, due by the end of the year.

McMahon said the additional $215,000 covered “the supply and installation of additional infrastructure”, including extra bollards, limestone landscaping, seating and picnic tables and enhancements outside businesses.

Repairs to planter boxes, retaining walls, signage and driveways were also required.

Frustrating but finished: Councillor Jamie Vogels moved a motion to acknowledge and sign off on the council’s $215,000 budget increase, acknowledging previous frustrations from the community about delays to the project.

• “While this project has delivered a modern and a world class town centre… members of the community have raised genuine concerns,” said Vogels.

• “Looking ahead, I want to be really clear, this doesn't mean council's washing its hands with the project. We're not finished, and we're not walking away.”

Vogels said the council would “keep a close eye on how the town centre beds down what's working, what's not and what's simply not fit for purpose”. 

• “If something isn't functioning properly, we'll look at how it can be fixed through our normal maintenance and improvement processes.”

Additional works, safety revisions, repairs and financial acquittals for state and federal partners were all parts of the project, with Vogels noting extra spend was essential to make the precinct fully functional.

Make this final: Councillor Jo Beard reluctantly welcomed the progress, asking to clarify the budget adjustment would be the last of the council’s expenditure dedicated to Port Campbell’s town centre. 

• “Now that, potentially, we're all going to support this addition, reluctantly I would suggest… Anything now going forward or surrounding anything down there, whether it be to do with the streetscape or not, it's just into the normal maintenance budgetary process and this is it.”