City Hall cancels meeting that was to rule on wakeboarding park after adjacent airport lodges objection

A long-awaited decision on whether to approve a wakeboarding park near Barwon Heads will be delayed by many months, further frustrating its proponents who lodged plans nearly four years ago.

The group behind plans for a wakeboarding park at Connewarre say up to 100 jobs could be created.

An objection withdrawn within 24 hours has caused the cancellation of a Geelong council meeting that was set to finally rule on a wakeboarding park in Connewarre.

Barwon Heads Airport lodged an objection on Monday after its previous directors had provided written support for a project that would be located immediately south of the airfield.

The meeting, scheduled for Thursday evening, was cancelled so the airport’s objection could be considered.

Council is now unlikely to convene on the matter until early next year due to a blackout period that commences on September 9 when nominations for local government elections open.

Barwon Heads Airport is located across the road from a proposed site for a wakeboarding park. Picture: Alan Barber

GSA Operations took control of the airport in May 2023.

Its directors withdrew their objection shortly after speaking with Travis Tait, whose Barwon Park group is behind the wakeboarding plans.

“Soon after the objection was lodged, the Barwon Heads Airport withdrew the objection and supplied a letter of support,” he said.

That support is subject to conditions, including a minor repositioning to the south and the installation of flashing beacons atop of its towers.

GSA was contacted for comment.

Mr Tait said his group remained confident council would ultimately approve the project.

“But we are very disappointed in the timing of the cancellation, only days before the meeting and that the earliest meeting we can reschedule for isn’t for at least six months, possibly longer,” he said.

Barwon Park’s Broden Orr and Travis Tait at the site of a proposed wakeboarding park on Barwon Heads Rd. Picture: Mark Wilson.

Council’s executive director of placemaking Tennille Bradley said City Hall needed time to explore the airport’s concerns before a recommendation could be made.

“This in-depth process can’t be rushed and includes providing the applicant with an opportunity to consider and respond to the matters raised in the airport’s objection,” she said.

“The applicant has acknowledged that they need further time to review the additional information and respond.”

The plans for Barwon Park stem back to 2019 when 51ha of farmland at 1392-1450 Barwon Heads Rd was purchased for almost $1.5m.

The proponents held pre-planning meetings with council officers that year and formally submitted a planning application in October 2020.

There has been much to and fro since as Barwon Park tried to appease the concerns of objectors, who cite its potential impact on the nearby wetlands, the likelihood of further development at the site, and its potential to negatively impact the local landscape.

The Barwon Heads Association, which is opposed to the project, has said its proximity to the airport created unnecessary risk.

Bellarine ward councillor Jim Mason had called in the application so it could be decided by council, rather than an internal planning panel.

A councillor can only call in an application that has received a minimum of six objections or one that has been recommended for refusal.

Earlier: Wakeboarding decision will cause waves, one way or another

Geelong council is set to finally make a decision on whether a multimillion-dollar wakeboarding park in Connewarre can proceed, almost four years after plans landed with City Hall.

The plans for Barwon Park, as it would be known, stem back to 2019 when 51ha of farmland at 1392-1450 Barwon Heads Rd was purchased for almost $1.5m.

The proponents held pre-planning meetings with council officers that year and formally submitted a planning application in October 2020.

There has been much to and fro since as Barwon Park tried to appease the concerns of objectors, who cite its potential impact on the nearby wetlands, the likelihood of further development at the site, and its potential to negatively impact the local landscape.

The Barwon Heads Association, which is opposed to the project, also said its proximity to the airport created unnecessary risk.

City Hall’s planning committee will meet on Thursday evening to hear from relevant parties and then vote on the matter.

The committee consists of all 11 councillors and is chaired by Bellarine ward councillor Jim Mason, who called in the application so it could be decided by council, rather than an internal planning panel.

A councillor can only call in an application that has received a minimum of six objections or one that has been recommended for refusal.

Barwon Park’s Broden Orr and Travis Tait at the site of a proposed wakeboarding park on Barwon Heads Rd. Picture: Mark Wilson.

Barwon Park’s Travis Tait said the planning process had been a “long journey indeed”.

“We are looking forward to getting a result and are optimistic that we’ve answered any of council’s concerns with appropriate consideration and design,” he said.

Mr Tait said up to 100 ongoing jobs would be created and construction could start in the next six months.

A circular main cable lake would be 700m in distance, with six cable towers pulling riders around the circuit, while a “two-tier wakeboard system” would be used on the second, 150m-long, lake, where a cable system would pull beginners in a straight line.

More than 2000 similar parks exist worldwide.

Entry to the park would be off Blackrock Rd, aided by government plans for a roundabout on the intersection with Barwon Heads Rd.

A planning committee meeting in December that saw plans for a Bellarine chocolate factory knocked back became heated when deputy mayor Anthony Aitken accused some colleagues of having a predetermined view on the matter.

Mr Aitken was later sanctioned following an arbitration process that ultimately found he breached the Local Government Act’s standards of conduct by making “disrespectful and discourteous” comments.

He was ordered to apologise publicly, which he did at council’s May Meeting.

Originally published as City Hall cancels meeting that was to rule on wakeboarding park after adjacent airport lodges objection