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Forrest Caravan Park lease Expression of Interest process

The lease for the Forrest Caravan Park, which was originally drawn up in 2001, expires in April 2021 (negotiations are currently underway for a one year extension). The Colac Otway Shire Council has decided to test the market by inviting Expressions of Interest (EOI) from operators interested in running a new caravan park.

Prior to embarking on the development of an EOI document, Council would like to hear from the Forrest community about its views on the lease, in particular the area of land the lease might cover.

The purpose of an EOI process is to ask the marketplace to respond to a key set of requirements outlined in the EOI document. Some parts of an EOI will be prescriptive. For example, Council has adopted a resolution which allows for a lease timeframe of up to 20 years.

Other parts of an EOI are not prescriptive, to allow the marketplace to competitively bid for the lease – for example, the rental return or the value the applicant plans to spend on site development improvements.

Council resolved at its February meeting to consult with the Forrest and district community on the area of land to be included in the EOI for lease, noting that Council was committed to retaining part of the area for public open space. The purpose of this community consultation is provide an opportunity for the Forrest and district community to comment on the area of land included, but also to better understand what the Forrest community wants to achieve from the caravan park lease.

Thank you for filling out this survey, which explores some of the key things Council needs to know before it prepares an EOI document for the lease.

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* 1. An EOI document typically outlines the principal objectives of the EOI process for submitters to respond to. These inform the evaluation criteria when Council assesses the EOI submissions.

The following is a list of objectives drawn from other similar EOIs that could be considered for the Forrest Caravan Park EOI. Please rate each objective in order of importance, 1 being minimal importance and 5 being very important. In Question 2, there is a free text box for you to identify objectives that are not in this list.

  1 2 3 4 5
To run a high quality tourist caravan park
To obtain an experienced and adequately resourced operator
To achieve a financial return to ratepayers
To appoint an operator who will carry out improvement/development works to enhance the caravan park and environs
To appoint an operator who will foster community cohesion through the way they run their business
To appoint an operator who contributes to the local economy through the way they run their business
To conserve and protect the natural environment the park operates within
To ensure the caravan park is operated in accordance with sound management principles (e.g. safety, business management, environmental and sustainability management)

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* 2. Please list any other objectives you would like Council to consider including in its EOI

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3. Area of land covered by the lease

The current Forrest Caravan Park lease area is depicted in the schematic below. Note, the dark yellow section, comprising the tennis court, playground area and Forrest Common area directly south of the playground is not in the leased area, and is retained by Council.

3. Area of land covered by the lease<br><br>The current Forrest Caravan Park lease area is depicted in the schematic below. Note, the dark yellow section, comprising the tennis court, playground area and Forrest Common area directly south of the playground is not in the leased area, and is retained by Council.

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* 3. Do you have any feedback on the area of land provided to the caravan park as part of the lease EOI?

Should the leased area:

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* 4. Overflow camping

Currently the Forrest Caravan Park lessees are able to use the western end of the Forrest Common for overflow camping four times a year with permission from Council (by application). This helps provide accommodation for people wanting to stay in Forrest for big events or public holiday periods. Please provide your feedback on the frequency of overflow camping.

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* 5. To help Council develop the EOI, we have some further questions to help us understand the community’s values and feelings towards the caravan park. We’d appreciate it if you would share your thoughts.

What do you love about the Forrest Caravan Park?

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* 6. What would you like to see improved at the Forrest Caravan Park/Forrest Common area?

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* 7. Why is the caravan park important to Forrest?

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* 8. Do you have any other comments to make about the upcoming EOI process?

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* 9. Name (optional)

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* 10. Contact details (optional - in case we need to talk to you to clarify anything)

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* 11. Postcode (required)

0 of 11 answered
 

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