A Phillip Island holiday resort will be the new home of the show in 2024
The Block has spent millions on a Phillip Island resort as the show plans a sea-change in 2024 at the Victorian tourist hotspot.
Fiona Byrne
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A resort on Phillip Island is the new location of The Block as the show heads for a sea-change.
After plans to set the 20th season of the show in Daylesford were scuttled just weeks ago, it can be revealed a holiday resort on Phillip Island, two and a half hours from Melbourne, will be the new home of the show in 2024.
The property has been purchased for $9.5 million.
Plans for the properties that will be built for the show on the site have been lodged with the Bass Coast Shire Council.
A caveat in the name of a Channel 9 owned company – not the company that is usually used to buy Block properties – was placed on Island Cove Villas on September 11.
The caveat indicates a deal to buy the Phillip Island property was agreed to on September 8, the same day that The Block production pulled the pin on its Daylesford plans.
The dates would clearly indicate that The Block masterminds had been looking for a back up plan in case the Daylesford project fell over.
Island Cove Villas is described in its real estate listing as “breathtaking from the moment you arrive.”
The resort comprises nine homes set over 2.5 acres of palm fringed gardens and sprawling lawns.
A palm fringed pool is a central feature of the property on Justice Road in Cowes West.
The nine homes include a stunning two storey, five-bedroom property, and six two-bedroom houses and two three-bedroom homes all with large carports and green spaces.
Contained within the resort grounds are a full-size tennis court, a large children’s playground, two large BBQ pavilions, two pool gazebos and a large commercial laundry.
The resort is located 2.4km from the main street of Cowes, is a short drive to the famous Phillip Island penguin parade and is walking distance to the beach.
Bass Coast Shire Council Mayor Cr Michael Whelan said the council was excited the hit show was coming to Phillip Island.
“Bass Coast Shire Council is excited that Channel 9 wants to film the 20th anniversary season of The Block on Phillip Island,” Cr Whelan said.
“Council has received the planning application and looks forward to meeting the producers of the show to discuss their ideas as part of the normal planning approvals process.
“Bass Coast is one of the fastest growing areas in Australia and we would be proud to show national and global TV audiences what makes Phillip Island and the wider region so special.’’
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