What is Anglesea’s Eden?

By Mary Bremner As the dust settled from the demolition of the Alcoa power station, Anglesea residents turned their thoughts to what would become of the site and the massive cavity remaining from the coal mine.

Shortly after the site closure in 2015, Alcoa commenced a community consultation. Feedback indicated that residents wanted to maintain the town’s seaside village vibe by limiting residential development, but also support economic growth.

This could be achieved through ecotourism, adventure-tourism, recreational and educational activities or renewable energy as an industry on the site. There was strong recognition of the community’s desire to take advantage of the site’s natural surrounds and unique flora and fauna.1

The idea of a large water body as a centrepiece for the future site captured people’s imaginations.

Alcoa soon set about rehabilitation of the site. There’s broad agreement that the earthworks carried out to grade the mine’s edges and the carefully planned revegetation program have already resulted in an amazing transformation.

In 2018, Alcoa developed a Freehold Concept Master Plan. Key to this plan is the creation of ‘a new tourism destination for Anglesea and the Great Ocean Road’. This arose from the company’s desire to leave a ‘significant and lasting contribution to the region’s future’.2

In need of someone who could turn this vision for the site into reality, Alcoa approached the Eden Project in Cornwall, England. This UK-based educational and environmental charity and social enterprise is famous for having transformed a disused clay quarry into a highly successful tourist attraction. CEO of Eden Project International Limited (EPIL), David Harland, said they get numerous enquiries of this sort, but Alcoa’s proposal piqued their interest.

Eden came to Anglesea and liked what they saw. It fitted with EPIL’s vision to create international projects promoting an understanding of the vital relationship between plants, people and resources.

The Eden Project Anglesea remains on the table as a concept for the former Alcoa mine site.

‘We were impressed with Alcoa’s rehabilitation plan,’ David Harland said. In comparison with other opportunities, the distance from Melbourne and the number of visitors already travelling down the Great Ocean Road made Anglesea attractive.

In May 2019, Alcoa and Eden Project launched the ‘concept phase’ of Eden Project Anglesea.

They outlined a vision to the community ‘to create a place of extraordinary experiences, fusing science and wonder to immerse visitors in the extremes of the elements – earth, air, water, fire – and in so doing, creating a must-see prelude to a journey on the Great Ocean Road’.3

This vision is expanded on the website at edenprojectanglesea.com.au with artists’ impressions and descriptions of how each of these themes might be realised.

As with Eden Cornwall, the proposed focus is on an educational experience –at Anglesea the emphasis would be on the local ecology and a theme of sustainability.

At a series of community meetings, Alcoa and representatives from Eden, further fleshed out the proposal. The enterprise aims to attract 750,000 visitors a year. The cost of building the project, estimated at $150 million, would be funded by impact investment, that is, investors who are interested in using their money for the good of communities. The project would also rely on government investment in the necessary infrastructure support.

The Eden Project would be on the former mine site, adjacent to the proposed water body, located in Area 3 of the A nglesea Futures Land Use Framework (see map on the right).

The former power station site is not part of the Eden Project Anglesea concept – Alcoa will seek partners to develop a visitor and parkland destination offering a range of community facilities on that site. This would be independent of, but complement, the Eden Project.

Eden made clear that its proposal is contingent on the resolution of a number of issues, not the least being the filling of the mine void to at least 50 per cent capacity by about 2024. Modelling has indicated that it would take 50 years to fill the void naturally. Early suggestions of diverting Salt Creek and using recycled water have been deemed unviable, leaving drawing water from the underground aquifer as the only option.

Alcoa secured permission from Southern Rural Water – a water corporation operating under the Victorian Government’s Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) – to conduct a 12month-long groundwater pumping test, to determine if a sustainable extraction rate could be established and to monitor the environmental impact. This test began in May 2021.

Needless to say, there has been a mixed response from the community about the Eden concept.

While some locals are excited about the possibilities it offers, others are concerned about the potential environmental and social impacts. Others are unsure, waiting to see what the actual proposal looks like before they decide whether they’d support it.

What has become clear is that many in the community are keen to engage further on the topic, seeking to understand more about the arguments both for and against Eden, so they feel better informed.

Promoting the economic benefits of the project to the region, Eden and Alcoa have predicted the creation of 170 construction jobs on site and an additional 700 jobs in the wider region. Once up and running, the destination would support 500 ongoing full-time jobs on and off the site. Their modelling predicts the creation of $350 million in the Surf Coast Shire in the first 10 years of operation. Eden (EPIL) CEO, David Harland said they have a strong local procurement policy and predicts purchasing at least 80 per cent of their goods and services locally.

Pre-COVID, 2.8 million tourists visited the Great Ocean Road annually. Eden’s plans to funnel some of them off the road is music to the ears of local business owners and accommodation providers.

President of the Business and Traders Association (BATA), Damien Cerantonio, is confident he is representing the view of many local businesses in welcoming the proposal. As owner of the Great Ocean Road Resort and part owner of the Anglesea Riverside Motel, Damien is acutely aware of the seasonal nature of tourism in Anglesea.

‘This is so important for us in the offpeak season and mid-week – it will bring a lot of visitors to our region when we need them most and all businesses are going to benefit from that,’ said Damien.

‘Prior to COVID, the landmark attraction was the Twelve Apostles but visitors made a bee-line for Port Campbell and didn’t spend any money at the beginning of the Great Ocean Road. An attraction like the Eden Project would help slow people down and encourage them to stay for a day or a couple of nights and spend money in our towns – whether it be Anglesea, Torquay or Aireys Inlet,’ he added.

Some people have suggested it opens up exciting possibilities for other tourist operators to create packages of experiences and give visitors a series of reasons to stay.

Anglesea-based Director of Baptist Camping Victoria, Geoff Caldwell, is enthused by the status of Eden Project as a charity and social enterprise.

‘They’re a world class eco-tourism body – we want the best we can have in town,’ said Geoff. ‘As an eco-friendly project with links to education, indigenous culture, conservation groups and local businesses – it ticks so many boxes,’ he said. With the camps putting 40,000 people through the town each year, Geoff is confident the schools would want to visit the project.

Eden’s mission to educate people about the environment has also impressed keen local naturalists, Peter and Christine Forster. They see a great opportunity to showcase ANGAIR’s 50 years of knowledge of the area.

‘We’d rather have Eden than something more commercial,’ said Peter. ‘Alcoa will be gone one way or another and they will sell the land to people who see another type of opportunity. We think Eden’s the best option.’ Wildlife ecologist and Aireys Inlet resident, Dr Barbara Wilson, is of a similar view.

‘I’m supportive because they have very creative ways of engaging people to understand the living world,’ said Barb, who is a founding member of the Anglesea Heath Consultative Committee (set up to work with leaseholders, Alcoa) and a researcher into local endangered mammals.

‘The education that tourists get at the Twelve Apostles is completely limited – this will be so much more than just a poster book or a photo opportunity,’ Barb added. ‘It’s a chance to tell the world what we’ve got out there in the way of biodiversity.’ Anglesea resident, Peter Doyle, describes the Eden Project as ‘an extraordinary opportunity for Victoria to take an international lead in environmental education, that also benefits Anglesea’. Considering the employment the project could create, Peter said, ‘I think the town could do with another couple of hundred families’. He believes this would give local businesses year-round viability.

> continued from page 9 ‘I get very upset at this drawbridge mentality – we’re in and let’s keep everybody else out. We have so much to share,’ said Peter. He believes Eden can happen, while still maintaining the seaside village character of Anglesea, which was highlighted as a priority in the Anglesea Structure Plan – the document developed collaboratively by the Surf Coast Shire Council and the community to help guide town planning.

There are also some local residents who have serious concerns about the Eden Project in Anglesea.

They worry about traffic congestion already experienced in peak periods and the existing concerns about the strain on the Great Ocean Road and its environment. Critics are also disappointed about the way community was engaged on the proposed land use planning for the Alcoa site.

Surf Coast resident, Professor Chris Ryan’s interest in the issue arises from a long international career in environmental design and sustainability. Chris doesn’t mince words in characterising the project as a ‘theme park with pretensions to be educational’. ‘The proposed facility is intended to entertain as well as educate,’ Chris said. ‘The overall experience is divided into themed spaces, which visitors move around. It seems that it will have a variety of active experiences for those who pay their daily ticket; including things like lake adventures and a zip line. There will be everything necessary to support the daily outing for those visitors, including food.

‘The main thing is that this is an enclosed park, which will require entry tickets and “Theme Park” is the only general descriptor that seems appropriate,’ he said.

Among his many misgivings, Chris questions the financial model. He points out that the Cornwall project foundation drew the majority of its funding from the UK Millennium Fund and the European Union.

‘Most of the income from the Cornwall project has been able to be ploughed back into supporting staff wages and the educational program. In the Anglesea case, the investors will want a return, so this enterprise has to run at a profit,’ Chris said.

Eden CEO David Harland said that they looked at a number of financial models for Anglesea. ‘We feel that the economic case stacks up for social investors. The nature of those investors is that they provide long term, patient capital, so while they require a return, it is at a lesser level than, say, venture capital or private equity,’ he explained.

Chris Ryan said the community is still hoping to see a business plan, which would give greater understanding of the financial returns that should be expected by investors in the Eden Project Anglesea.

The number of visitors assumed in Eden’s calculations is 750,000 annually. Eden acknowledges that this means upwards of 4,000 people through the gates on some days. Entrance fees will only account for about 50 per cent of their revenue. According to its website, Eden Cornwall hosts a series of music concerts attracting up to 5,000 people, and hires out the venue for weddings and business functions. Their gift shop offers everything from garden tools to clothing, toys and books to beauty products. There are six different catering outlets. With entrance fees accounting for only half their income, Eden Anglesea is expected to attract 35–40 per cent of revenue from retail and catering, with the remaining 10–15 per cent from other components such as weddings, conferences and corporate events, according to David Harland.

This brings Chris to another concern, which is the potential of the venture to ‘cannibalise’ local and regional businesses. With food, shopping and recreational activities available on the site, Chris believes these are tourist dollars that will not be spent in the town or further down the road.

The future use of the Alcoa mine site remains a point of discussion for the community.

However, the A nglesea Futures Land Use Framework states that new retail cannot compete with local businesses.

David Harland has said he would hope that existing retailers in Anglesea could have a presence at Eden.

Chris also has serious objections to the choice of a UK-based company.

‘It seems to me to be a massive failure of confidence on the part of Alcoa. As far as we know, Eden is the only organisation that Alcoa has approached to pitch a concept for the old mine site,’ said Chris. He points to the extraordinary Australian talent in design innovation and project

development. ‘Any comparable project would have been put out as an open design competition,’ he said.

‘In fact, I’m currently working on a big project on the future of the Great Ocean Road with four of the world’s top design universities, all in Melbourne, that could come up with alternative proposals.

‘It’s an incredible opportunity for a genuinely local project, reflecting to the world what Australia could do,’ Chris said.

Community members, Meg and Andrew Arnold, don’t believe any development needs to take place on the site. ‘Alcoa has set up this discussion around “What’s going to go there?” when all they need to do is clean up the site and leave,’ said Meg. ‘When consulted, the community made it clear they only want nature-based activities –small trails, camping sites, crosscountry biking.’ Meg and Andrew don’t see any dying or struggling businesses in Anglesea and point to the portable classrooms brought to the school to cater for the recent influx of students. With people able to work from home, they believe that many families have moved to live in Anglesea.

Nor does the couple buy the employment creation incentive. ‘There’s not high unemployment in Anglesea. This raises the question, “Who are we creating the jobs for?” Most people who would work there wouldn’t live in Anglesea – it wouldn’t add much to the local economy from that point of view.’ The couple is also unconvinced about Eden’s eco-tourism credentials. The damage to the heath caused by the infrastructure of roads needed to get in and out of Eden and the impact on nocturnal animals by light pollution were listed as concerns. They are also unhappy about the potential use of artesian water to fill the void.

Margaret Knight and Jim Bailey share a similar view. Wary of the commercial side of the venture, Jim said, ‘We already have the natural bush, featuring earth, fire, air and water – it doesn’t need to be done artificially or commercially,’ said Jim. ‘You can see beautiful rocks, cliffs and beaches, you don’t need to see fibreglass versions. You can look at clouds, and mist off a waterfall, you don’t need to see a smoke machine,’ said Jim.

‘I could see campsites being the main attraction on this site, like the National Parks you see around Victoria. That would probably bring more people into town and using the facilities here than a theme park. People come to Anglesea for the natural environment – it isn’t like the Gold Coast, it’s not a commercial town, it’s a seaside resort,’ added Margaret.

The COVID pandemic, with the consequent halt to international tourism, has brought all negotiations on the project to a halt and created an uncertain future. Optimistically, Alcoa recently announced a restart to the Community Consultation Network meetings when restrictions have eased. Eden’s David Harland also remains positive and is looking forward to a return visit when our borders open.

In the meantime, until the viability of the creation of the water body is confirmed (being a prerequisite for EPIL’s continued interest in developing a detailed proposal) the Eden concept remains a concept and the project is effectively at a standstill.

Following earlier discussions, Paul Davis, CEO of the Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation, said they were waiting for a concrete proposal from the Eden Project before engaging with the local traditional owners about their future involvement.

ANGAIR President, Sally White said, ‘ANGAIR finds it encouraging that a proven educational charity envisions a project to showcase the powerful environmental forces that have shaped the unique Surf Coast. It is, however, a complex undertaking and one that ANGAIR will study closely when the project’s plans are further advanced.’ The Surf Coast Shire Council’s General Manager Environment and Development, Ransce Salan said, ‘The Eden Project is a concept and we are yet to see what the final proposal will involve. At this stage, we are unaware of what approvals would be required by Council. Due to the proposed size and impact of the development, they are likely to be at state government, rather than Shire level.’ It remains to be seen how tourism to the region changes post-COVID, but all calculations based on visitor numbers and tourist patterns will require some revision. Anecdotally, Anglesea has also seen a pandemic-driven boost to its population and the impact on local businesses is yet to be tallied. The issue of housing is a hot topic and the opportunities and challenges offered by the Alcoa precinct are part of that discussion.

Despite the many and varied opinions on the benefits and costs of the proposed Eden Project for Anglesea, there is widespread agreement that Anglesea should retain its casual, seaside village charm.

Differences of opinion stem from varying understandings of the way the Eden Project may impact on this.

Eden CEO David Harland acknowledges this, saying, ‘We exist as a social enterprise, which is about doing good in the places we’re based and it must be that Anglesea benefits here – otherwise we’ll have got it horribly wrong. If it turns out that a genuine majority of people really don’t want this, then we won’t come’. I’ll leave the last word with longstanding Anglesea resident and former mayor, Beth Davidson OAM, who believes strongly in the need to get the discussion in the town right.

‘I say to people, engage with the facts. Don’t bring just an opinion, but an informed opinion to it because this is too important to Anglesea.’ Beth believes the best decisions are made when the right balance is found between the social, environmental and economic factors.

‘Let’s have the open conversation, bring an open heart and mind to it. Something’s going to happen – let’s make it serve us. Let’s make it real.’

Footnotes 1. Alcoa Guiding Principles for Future Land Use Planning at Alcoa’s Anglesea Power station and mine site, September 2016 2. Alcoa Freehold Concept Master Plan Anglesea, March 2018 3. Eden Project Anglesea Concept, edenprojectanglesea.com.au