Avalon Beach

Better boating facilities are coming to Avalon Beach as part of the Government’s investment in improving boating in Victoria.

Better Boating Victoria together with the City of Greater Geelong, local fishers and other key management agencies earlier this year finalised concept plans for the future upgrade of the facility.

Click here to view the final concepts.

The existing Avalon Beach boat ramp is a partially sheltered, fair weather boat launching facility located on the northern shoreline of Corio Bay within the City of Greater Geelong which has one of the highest number of boat registrations per local government area in the state. 

Concept designs were commissioned in April to explore potential improvements to boating facilities and car parking.

The concept has been developed by marine and civil engineers from Water Technology with advice and input from key management agencies, local government and key stakeholders including local recreational fishers.

Click here to view the latest project newsletter.

The proposed upgrade at Avalon will increase capacity and improve the functionality of the facility to address the increasing demand in the Geelong region for recreational boating facilities. 

The proximity of environmentally significant wetlands and vegetation surrounding the facility restricted any significant expansion of the existing footprint. However the design team have managed to reconfigure the site to increase the number of parking spaces without significant impact to the surrounding environment. 

Key features of the upgrade include  

• Providing 36 car and trailer spaces,  
• Extension of the existing jetties, doubling the existing berthing capacity 
• Rebuilding and replacement of the wave screens along the jetties to provide greater protection to boaters during unfavourable wind conditions 
• Dedicated boat preparation space 
• Provision of Boating Vic cameras covering the ramp and car park 

• Recreational boaters, fishers and members of the broader community provided feedback on the concept in September 2021. COVID restrictions at the time meant consultation occurred predominantly online. Feedback received through this process supported the concept but highlighted issues such as security and the impact of other users such as seawater harvesting trucks on the ramp. Click here to view the consultation survey results. 

BBV has been collaborating with stakeholders to develop final designs and gain planning approvals for construction in Autumn 2023. Water Technology, a coastal engineering firm has partnered with dedicated maritime engineers to progress designs and environmental approvals to gain the best outcome for recreational boaters within the confines of the sensitive environment.  

A design has been prepared which maximises parking bays for car & trailer units whilst protecting nearby sensitive vegetation and habitat.  

Final designs plans are currently underway and subject to environmental approvals and contractor availability, works are scheduled to commence from April 2023