Former Holdfast Bay deputy mayor Tim Looker takes aim at Jetty Rd redevelopment

The Holdfast Bay mayor has blasted “misinformation” being spread on Facebook groups, as an ex-councillor says the Jetty Rd upgrade will create “massive debt”.

Artist impressions of Jetty Road at Glenelg. Picture: Supplied

A former deputy mayor has called out Holdfast Bay Council’s plans to upgrade Jetty Rd – accusing it of breaching both council policy and the Local Government Act.

Raypayers have been smashed with a 7.1 per cent rate increase to help fund the $40m redevelopment – equating to an added $126 per household.

Tim Looker, who served as councillor and deputy mayor from 2006 to 2014, said council’s report on the upgrade was “a shocker” and would saddle the council with “massive debt”.

“Failure to put this revised project out for public consultation is a breach of council’s consultation policy and the Local Government Act and common law,” Mr Looker said.

However, Holdfast Bay Mayor Amanda Wilson shot back, saying “misinformation” was being spread on social media about council’s annual budget report and the Jetty Rd upgrade.

“Misinformation about council’s proposed budget was shared on social media and spread among community Facebook groups, which has led to an increase in people believing wrong information,” she said.

Ms Wilson said council’s own long-term financial plan showed a 2.3 per cent rate increase above CPI would continue for three financial years – and not five years, “as has been wrongly communicated by some residents’ groups on social media”.

Glenelg beach and Jetty Road from the Westpac Lifesaver Rescue Helicopter, February 17, 2024. Picture: Brenton Edwards

Last month, Ms Wilson defended the rate rise, saying the $40m project wasn’t “just an investment into Glenelg”.

“Over the next three years, we will transform the 1km stretch of Jetty Rd into a modern, five-star, vibrant, safe and accessible world-class destination,” she said.

Mr Looker said the project risked plunging the council into “massive debt”

“Approval of this project, the avoidance of a proper public consultation and the putting of council into an ‘extreme risk’ financial circumstance is to saddle future council with a massive debt for no community benefit.” he said.

Artist impressions of Jetty Road at Glenelg. Picture: Supplied

Ms Wilson said councils had to take out loans in order to deliver significant community projects with economic benefits for the whole city.

“This proposed loan to help fund the Jetty Road Glenelg project will have a fixed interest rate for 15 years and the Long Term Financial Plan shows this debt being paid down over the life of the plan,” she said.

“We undertook an additional survey of our residents and businesses, to ensure we had a broad representation of the community.

“Face-to-face interviews were conducted at six locations across the entire city, and we received feedback from another 400 residents and 100 business operators, in addition to the 110 who shared their view through our community engagement process.”

Council’s final decision on the annual business plan and budget will be made at end of this month.