07 Dec DECEMBER NEWSLETTER

Posted at 17:04h in General News, Newsletter by
0 Likes

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

This has been a great year of celebration in town and the 150 year anniversary of the Barwon Heads Primary School has united the whole village. Well done to all.

Some of us have been trying to encourage the traders to be more innovative for the festive season, especially to encourage them to decorate for Christmas and participate in the City of Greater Geelong Red Bow promotion. We know that many residents try to support local, and especially so at this time of year.
To make the Main Street an attractive shopping destination this year, we have heard that the Wine Shop, Meraki Makers, and the Second Show will be holding a Christmas shopping night on the 4th December, and we think that they may be planning more shopping events to follow. Keep your eyes open for further information around the village. Annies and Kiitos will also be hosting a late night shopping celebration on the 17th December.

The BHA committee has been following up the removal of the fairy lights from the trees in the main street. We now know that the lights were paid for by some of the traders, an initiative of Christian from Bellarine Property back in 2013. The “Light Up Hitchcock Ave” initiative planned for, purchased and installed lights in the trees in Hitchcock Ave that lasted for 12 years before their recent removal. We are talking to Cr Elise Wilkinson about new opportunities for lighting up the street.

Talking Heads

The link to the SUMMER Talking Heads. Life is better with a Billy Button. Read and share the good news 🙂 Link here.

The BHA had a very successful AGM, at the Bowling Club. Thank you all for coming and to our member for the Bellarine, Alison Marchant, for her address. We thanked Philip Bade for being President for the past 4 years and were sad to farewell Colin Bridges  – he has been a wonderful committee member for 10 years. We welcome Paul Saunders to the Committee.

Here is our Committee:
President –  Sandy Gatehouse
Vice Presidents – Tony Judd & Geoffrey Waite
Treasurer: Brian Cook
Secretary: Paul Brewster
Committee: Philip Bade; Paul Saunders; David Littleton; Karen Firth; and Rod Ashby.

Our Committee are involved in a broad range of local groups and we all live in Barwon Heads. We have close relationships with Rotary, the Lobster Pot, the Bowling Club, the Seniors, the Arts Hub, Barwon Coast, Barwon Water, the Primary School and local businesses.

We are still actively seeking new Committee members, especially women. The purposes of the Association are to further the interests of the residents and rate payers of the Village, so all residents and ratepayers are eligible for membership.

We will publish an agenda for meetings during the year in February – please give us your ideas for speakers.

A few tips for surviving summer

  • It’s getting busy, try and leave your car at home and walk or ride. Everyone other person has a dog and it seems sometimes that there are more dogs than people sitting outside cafes and shops.
  • Dogs should be on leads around town at all times and under effective control.
  • Dogs must be on leash in:
    • All footpaths, car parks, shared trails, access paths, jetties, Caravan park transit zones, within 10 metres of playgrounds, picnic and BBQ areas.
  • Dogs are not permitted in:
    • Caravan parks
    • The Barwon Heads Caravan Park oval
  • From December Dogs are prohibited from most beaches from 9am to 7pm. Check the map on the Barwon Coast website to work out which beaches are leash free. (NOT MANY).
  • Remember the new 40km/hr speed limit throughout town, except for arterial roads (Golf Links Rd to Bridge Rd and parts of Bridge Rd remain 50 km/h zones).
  • The Barwon Heads Hotel has some very interesting plans for renovations which will be advertised soon. The hotel has shared these plans with the neighbours for input.
  • There is ongoing concern about the growth of jetty jumping – Flotation rings and signage will be installed at Ozone and Main Jetties and William Buckley Bridge.
  • Be careful of road works on Barwon Heads Rd. We have expressed our concerns, but the road near the airport is challenging and we were upset to hear of recent accidents – “Construction will pause over the busy Christmas and New Year period with the site open to two-way traffic. In January, construction will resume to complete the final works on the upgrade. Traffic management may be required at times, including lane closures and reduced speed limits.”  Barwon Heads Road Blackrock Road intersection safety upgrades – Transport Victoria
  • Big Build Roads are delivering the duplication of Barwon Heads Road – “The stage two upgrade from Reserve Road, Charlemont to Lower Duneed Road, Connewarre is underway. Construction of this major project will continue through 2026. For more information on the Barwon Heads Road duplication.” Barwon Heads Road Upgrade – Victoria’s Big Build.
  • The BHA has always been a strong supporter of the Bellarine Link. We consider that this project should now become the number one priority for funding and construction by all levels of government. We are pleased that the City of Greater Geelong has the project on its list of projects for the 2026 state election and add our support. We will lobby candidates for the State Election and our Federal member to fund and construct this project so that it is completed by 2030. We passed the following motion at our AGM: “That the BHA urge the three levels of Government to commence the building of the Bellarine Link between Baanip Boulevard and the Portarlington Road during the 2026/2027  financial year”.
  • Electric Scooters are now permanently legalised in Victoria, allowing privately owned scooters to be ridden under strict rules. The Police and government are very aware of the growing concern within the local Bellarine community of the increase of e-scooters being used illegally. You can legally ride an e-scooter in Victoria if you:
    • ride on shared-use paths (not on footpaths), or roads that have a speed limit up to 60km/h
    • are at least 16 years old
    • wear a helmet
    • do not travel more than 20km/h
    • do not use your mobile phone
    • do not carry a passenger (dinking).
  • We are pleased that CoGG Has approved installation of more School Bollards for the safe route to school program. These will be in Von Nida Ave and through Seabank Estate. The BHA has donated $1000 towards this project, our proceeds from the Duck Race 2024.

Planning

  • The wakeboard park is back in the CoGG planning system. We have objected again.
  • Some of us have been attending the VCAT hearing regarding the appeal from the refusal of the application to amend the planning permit 2A Talbot St and 4-8 Paringa Lane. Results won’t be known before this newsletter goes out, but we will keep you informed.

Please join/renew your membership

Thank you to our very loyal members. Membership subscriptions are due from July 1. We are looking for new ideas and members for the Committee – please share. Click on the following link to our website or copy this link into your web browser and complete the membership form.
https://barwonheadsassociation.com/membership-2/
Make the payment (INCLUDING YOUR FULL NAME) using your online banking to the BHA Account
Account Name: Barwon Heads Association
BSB: 633000
Account Number: 130256704