Posted 27/3/08
Port Campbell Community Group
Media Release - 27 March 2008
Port Campbell community applauded the decision by Corangamite Council to refuse an extension to the permit for the Southern Ocean Beach House.
Council determined that the Southern Ocean Beach House’s 4 storey, 97 key (130 room) residential hotel, 10 shop, 200 seat restaurant is contrary to the new Design and Development Overlay (DDO) which asserts Port Campbell must retain its low scale village character.
The Southern Ocean Beach House’s proposed 4 storeys are contrary to the DDO’s preference for 1 storey, or up to 3 storeys at most if other objectives are achieved.
The ironically named ‘Beach House’ does not appear to meet other objectives including the retention of views across the town, and its need to excavate in excess of 20,000 tonnes of earth and acquire extra Crown land for buses to exit on an unstable headland appears at odds with the DDO’s requirements to limit excavation, be site specific and responsive, and fit the topography of the site.
Council determined the Southern Ocean Beach House did not show any good reason why it could not satisfy the conditions of the permit within the allocated time.
Three community representatives made submissions and presented petitions to Council highlighting the incongruity of the proposed development in relation to Port Campbell planning policies and its potential for catastrophic environmental impacts. The representatives said the community would not give up on this issue.
It seems the Southern Ocean Beach House will now also have to contend with the new Aboriginal Cultural regulations as the land is designated as a ‘culturally sensitive site’. Aldo Massola (Curator of Melbourne Museum in the 1960s) recorded an adjacent campsite. Nearby, Aboriginal steps are cut into the cliff face. It appears considerable sections of this site have had little disturbance since settlement in 1840 and may contain significant Aboriginal heritage.
The Southern Ocean Beach House has added an extra complexity to the saga by submitting an application for subdivision of the building proposal before it is even built. This appears to indicate a lack of confidence in the viability of the SOBH.
The subdivision appears to be carving the proposed Southern Ocean Beach House up into separate elements, making it a piecemeal proposal with potentially different ownerships for the motel, restaurant, etc. while leaving the contentious carpark, lifts and courtyard areas as "common property", although ‘common’ to what is not yet known.