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Mt Arapiles development


sticky

20-Jul-2007
3:43:52 PM

Excuse my prior flippant remark. I've put my name down too. When I was in Canada the suits came very close to installing a gondola up the Squamish Chief - it took massive community protest to get it stopped. If in doubt - have your say!

Kyle

earwig

20-Jul-2007
4:37:54 PM

The government loves to hear from peak bodies over individuals. Maybe a lobbying job for the VCC ...

kieranl

20-Jul-2007
5:37:16 PM

On 20/07/2007 earwig wrote:
>The government loves to hear from peak bodies over individuals. Maybe a
>lobbying job for the VCC ...
What really counts is numbers. Lots of sensible individual submissions have a big impact. By all means peak bodies should provide an opinion but don't abdicate your personal responsibility.
You may well have different priorities to me but, if you love the place, put your opinion up there.

kieranl

26-Jul-2007
9:12:29 PM

Supposed to be some details about where to send submissions in Friday's Wimmera Mail-Times. Will post them when I see them.

Those who love irony might appreciate that earlier this week we managed to have a former president of One Nation put the Connell-Wagner project worker through the wringer. It may not be fair but it was fun.

kieranl

29-Jul-2007
11:08:46 AM

Sometimes I think I'm too cynical so it's good to have Parks Victoria around to reassure me that I'm just a realist.
From the Wimmera Mail-Times, Friday 27/7 :

THE community will have a chance to voice their opinion on a Mt Arapiles tourism study with a workshopp planned for August 16.
Commissioned by Parks Victoria, Tourism Victoriaa and Horsham Rural City Council, the $50,000 tourism feasibility study focusing on Mt Arapiles, Natimuk and Mitre has drawn criticism from people in the community who felt they had been left in the dark.
Consultants for the study, Connell Wagner, will hold the workshop in Natimuk Memorial Hall on the evening of Thursday August 16.
Parks Vict regional manager Rod Neewnham said consultants were also looking to use the internet to allow those who could not attend, including the interstate and international climbing fraternity, to have input.
"The community has expressed keen interest in the study and their input is welcome," he said.
"The feasibility study is a genuine attempt to look at opportunities for sensitive development that will address current, and future impacts of use and bring positive economic, social and environmental benefits to the area."
Mr Newnham said community input would build on information gathered by the consultants and be used in understanding the opportunities and constraints that face the Mt Arapiles site.
"The exercise includes an assessment of the level of community support for different concepts aimed at addressing key issues such as accommodation, water supply, access and environmental impacts," he said.
Mr Newnham said that it was important for people to understand it was purely a feasibility study and there were no concrete plans on which people could provide submissions.
"There is currently no plan, or funding, for development of any sort at Mt Arapiles," he said.
He said Mt Arapiles-Tooan State Park would continue to be managed in accordance with provisions of the National Park Act.
"We know the local economy already benefits from Mt Arapiles as a rock climbing destination and we are interested to see if there is opportunity to support the existing industry and economy through provision of better facilities, particularly those that may attract longer stays to the area," he said.
"So the feasibility study is examining both the need and opportunity for future sensitive tourism development, in the context of protecting the very assets and experience that draws people to the area."
He said people were encouraged to register their interest in attending the workshop by calling Parks Victoria on 131963.
Lauren Henry

kieranl

29-Jul-2007
11:39:34 AM

Let's pick a few elements out of this:

>THE community will have a chance to voice their opinion on a Mt Arapiles
>tourism study with a workshopp planned for August 16.
Oh goodie, those who can get there will be patronised by a "facilitator" and get to "brainstorm" ideas onto butcher's paper.

>consultants were also looking
>to use the internet to allow those who could not attend, including the
>interstate and international climbing fraternity, to have input.
That's reassuring. I wouldn't have thought to use the internet. That's why we pay people $50,000: to come up with clever ideas like this.

>"The feasibility study is a genuine attempt to look at opportunities for
>sensitive development that will address current, and future impacts of
>use and bring positive economic, social and environmental benefits to the
>area."
Standard waffle.

>"The exercise includes an assessment of the level of community support
>for different concepts aimed at addressing key issues such as accommodation,
>water supply, access and environmental impacts," he said.
>Mr Newnham said that it was important for people to understand it was
>purely a feasibility study and there were no concrete plans on which people
>could provide submissions.
Why do you need "concrete plans" as a basis for submissions. There are already "different concepts" identified so perhaps we could be told what they are so that we could make sensible submissions about them. But we're just country hicks so what would we know?

>"We know the local economy already benefits from Mt Arapiles as a rock
>climbing destination and we are interested to see if there is opportunity
>to support the existing industry and economy through provision of better
>facilities, particularly those that may attract longer stays to the area,"
Don't they have any understanding of how long many visitors stay at Arapiles and how many repeat visitors there are? They have a jewel here but all they seem to see is foregone revenue. The problem at Arapiles is not attracting visitors but controlling the environmental impact of all of the visitors.

> people were encouraged to register their interest in attending
>the workshop by calling Parks Victoria on 131963.
So we can't just rock up? That's open consultation for you. Why register? to control numbers? to control who attends? or just control for controls sake?

kieranl

29-Jul-2007
11:43:50 AM

The Workshop :

Natimuk Memorial Hall Thursday August 16. No time given.
If you are going to attend please ring 131963 to register.
If you would like to attend but cannot you can't get to Natimuk on a Thursday evening, please ring 131963 to register your displeasure.

Also, if you try to register but get knocked back please let me know.

Kieran


oweng

29-Jul-2007
12:45:49 PM

On 29/07/2007 kieranl wrote:
>So we can't just rock up? That's open consultation for you. Why register?
>to control numbers? to control who attends? or just control for controls
>sake?

You never know your luck, they might want numbers so they know how many packets of tim tams to buy.

Access T CliffCare

2-Aug-2007
11:35:14 AM

Hi All,
On Thursday 9th August, the VCC will be holding its general meeting at Hardrock. Following the usual social activities, we will be taking this opportunity to use the meeting to discuss the current situation at Araps with the Mt. Arapiles block precinct plan and Feasability study. This will be an opportunity to see and assess the information on hand, what it might mean, consequences and what we as individuals and as a community, can do to put our opinions forward. People can provide input as to further support we could gather. I will be putting a submission together on behalf of the VCC but as Kieran and others have pointed out, it is the numbers that are going to make the most noise and make us heard. Besides the individual letters which are vitally important, I will be getting some sort of petition/comments register together so that we can also catch those people who might not be letter writers.

I am hoping to attend the meeting in Natimuk on Thursday 16th August. For many people this might not be possible, so if I can go armed(for lack of a better word) with feedback from others and a general sense of what the opinions are out there, all the better! If, as they say, "The feasibility study is a genuine attempt to look at opportunities for sensitive development that will address current, and future impacts of use and bring positive economic, social and environmental benefits to the area." then it is important that they get a genuine understanding of how important Arapiles is to us and how we would like to see it managed.

There is a possibility that the meeting will be held at the new city gym, dependant on opening, but if not it will be at Hardrock at Nunawading, discussion on Arapiles at 8.30. I will confirm this shortly. Please make the effort to attend and get involved. Information will also be available at www.vicclimb.org.au and I can be contacted via cliffcare@vicclimb.org.au

Thanks,

Tracey Skinner

Access T CliffCare

8-Aug-2007
7:59:25 AM

Hi All,

Due to a change in situations and the fact that the VCC have postponed their general meeting until the thursday(16/8) next week in order to have it at the new Hardrock City, we are unable to have the Arapiles discussion this Thursday. I will still be attending the workshop in Natimuk on the 16/8 and will arrange a meeting after this so as to provide more information to everyone on what it means and how everyone can help. My apologies for this. If anyone would be interested in also attending the workshop I will have spare seats in my car for a lift up to Araps. I will be leaving on theThursday during the day - the meeting is at 7pm and I will be returning to Melbourne on the Friday sometime.

Thanks,

Tracey Skinner

surfinclimb

11-Aug-2007
7:44:21 PM

Does anyone know what time the meeting at Natimuk starts?


muki

11-Aug-2007
7:57:06 PM

7pm at the hall.

surfinclimb

12-Aug-2007
10:41:22 AM

Thanks. Im assuming its going to be standing room only and that they "FACE" of this corruption is going to get to feel the scorn of the greater climbing community.

estherrenita_

12-Aug-2007
7:35:47 PM

Hey Tracey,
what time would you be leaving exactly, i would love to come, but i have uni first.
...maybe i could leave a little early.
thanks,
esther renita.

gclimb

12-Aug-2007
10:05:12 PM

the who? the how? the when? the where?

Access T CliffCare

13-Aug-2007
8:00:22 AM

Hi Esther,
I will probably be leaving in the morning sometime as I have a few things to do up there before the meeting - maybe 10.00

Cheers,
Tracey


Zebedee

18-Aug-2007
7:18:32 PM

On 12/08/2007 gclimb wrote:
>the who? the how? the when? the where?
$40,000 to find out climbers camp and they don't spend much money. It won't be economic to build a four star resort. There are many visitors to a small park and this creates high impact which is expensive to manage.

So suck it up Parks Vic.


Richard

21-Aug-2007
12:50:13 PM

>THE community will have a chance to voice their opinion on a Mt Arapiles
>tourism study with a workshopp planned for August 16.

so...............what the 'f happened?


Eduardo Slabofvic

21-Aug-2007
1:02:31 PM

The consultants said a whole bunch of stuff, summed up by Zebedee above, then a few people in the
audience wanted to have their say and change the order of proceedings, then everyone broke up into
small groups to talk amongst themselves, then the group came back together, and a few people then had
their say, then that was about it.

My summary of what was discussed is the consultants realise that there is no scope for tourism
development at the mount, but that the toilets could be upgraded, and a bunch of track work done,
including the road up the back. The community said any tourism development should be in Nati.

Written submissions are still being invited. I don’t have the address handy, if I find it I’ll post it.


Organ Pipe

21-Aug-2007
1:15:03 PM

Sounds like a sensible outcome. Good to hear.

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