Tour local backed

By Kath Gannaway
At a combined meeting of the Warburton Chamber of Commerce (WCC), Warburton Advancement League (WAL) and Warburton Highway Tourism (WHT) last week, WCC secretary Norman Orr said it was vital, with the tenure on the business currently operating the information centre finishing in December, that action was taken swiftly to ensure visitors to the town over the peak summer holiday period had access to local information.
The WIC is currently run out of the Warburton Water Wheel complex.
Mr Orr said the Shire of Yarra Ranges was calling for expressions of interest for tenure of both the upper and lower levels, but that with that process just commencing, an alternative was needed.
“We have a local business with a background in tourism promotion which is prepared to operate their own business in conjunction with an information centre from the Water Wheel,” Mr Orr said.
“What we want the council to do is to make the ground-level building available for a peppercorn rent, to make it a viable proposition.”
Mr Orr said the three organisations would act as a governing body and said it was an innovative plan which would see the WIC run by locals, giving the town some control over its prosperity and survival including tourism and town promotion.
He told the meeting the plan would require the council to contribute $15,000 in rental for the property, which he said was the equivalent amount the council contributed to Yarra Glen for their Bushfire Recovery ‘SLIP’ campaign.
He said he was unaware that Warburton had received any Bushfire Recovery funding to help the town through the effects the bushfires had on the town and its economy.
“We are hopeful that $15,000 could cover a couple of years’ rental for us.
“In essence, we are not requesting funding, but asking that no rental be collected from us.”
Mr Orr said there was a precedent for bypassing the expressions of interest process with the council having previously put the WIC in the lower level without going down that path.
Mr Orr said Warburton had been “like a pimple on an elephant’s backside” for too long.
“We have an opportunity here to have an information centre running seven days a week .
“The big certainty is that if we do not have an information centre on the 7th of December it will be devastating for Warburton and tourism in our area,” Mr Orr said.