Community
3 December, 2025
Controversial works $215k over budget
THE controversial Port Campbell Town Centre Revitalisation Project is officially finalised, having gone over budget by $215,000.
The project aimed to deliver a world-class tourism product while ensuring the streetscape improved and better met the needs of locals, which was practically completed in March.
Additional works were required post completion to ensure community and business needs were met which led to the additional expenditure.
At last month’s Ordinary Meeting of Council, councillors approved the budget variation, acknowledging the project was tough on the Port Campbell community.
“I’d like to acknowledge from the outset that while this project has delivered a modern and a world-class town centre, members of the community have raised genuine concerns about some aspects from timing through to landscaping choices and post completion works,” councillor Jamie Vogels said.
“I hear those concerns and have taken them seriously.
“As a council what we’ve done in response, is we’ve commissioned and acted on a safety audit that identified minor infrastructure revisions and they’re now completed, finalised additional works requested by businesses and residents including seating, bollards, signage repairs and enhanced landscaping.
“We’ve completed rectification and repairs where items did not meet expected standards and ensured grant acquittals and audited financial reporting to the state and federal partners were completed in line with our funding agreements.”
Cr Vogels said he understood the additional $215,000 could be a cause for contention and community concern.
“The original project reached practical completion in March and the core works were delivered but post completion spend covers necessary safety responses, targeted repairs, additional streetscape elements requested by the community and costs associated with the official opening which was required under our funding agreement,” he said.
“These works were essential to make the project fully functional and to address issues that were raised by the community.
“Council prioritised works raised by local businesses and residents to restore confidence and usability in the town centre.
“Management of routine inquiries and day-to-day issues have been transferred to business as usual to improve responsiveness going forward.”
Cr Vogels said council were not finished with the project and would continue to monitor the streetscape.
“We’ll keep a close eye on how the town centre beds down – what’s working, what’s not and what’s simply not fit for purpose,” he said.
“If something isn’t functioning properly, we’ll look at how it can be fixed through our normal maintenance and improvement processes.
“We’ll continue taking feedback from locals and businesses because they’re the ones using the space every single day.
“And importantly, the upcoming parking strategy – that’ll play a big role in shaping how Port Campbell works into the future, especially as visitations grow, and that work will guide the next stages of improving access, traffic flow and the overall useability of the township.”
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