Carnival closes for last time
Owners of the carnival land in Cowes have closed their doors for the last time.
Owners of the carnival land in Cowes have closed their doors for the last time, saying they remain angry at the property’s compulsory acquisition and were yet to find a new home.
Owner Brian Watkins said settlement on the 16ha site, on the corner of Phillip Island Road and Ventnor Road, was due last week but Bass Coast Shire had notified the family of a last-minute delay until March.
He would not disclose the sale price, but said it was “almost the amount we were asking”.
He said about 12 of his family members who call the property home have until June 6 to leave.
“We have been looking for another place to go but so far we can’t find land to put the carnival on,” said the 78-year-old who has just undergone six months of chemotherapy.
“Maybe we’ll have to use squatters’ right after that date. We would like to stay on Phillip Island because we don’t have anywhere else to go.”
Last year Victoria’s Planning Minister approved compulsory acquisition of the land by the shire for a proposed sports hub, including a community pool.
Mr Watkins said he had asked to retain a few acres in the southern corner but the shire had rejected the request.
“We haven’t been able to sleep at night. We’re stressed out, angry and disillusioned,” said the father of three and grandfather of eight.
He said they closed the carnival for the last time on the Australia Day long weekend after more than 20 years at the location, and after about five decades of visiting the island, which had become a home base while they travelled Australia through the year with the carnival.
The Watkins were planning to retire on the land and council had several years ago approved a building permit for their home and soon after notified them of plans to compulsorily acquire the land.
Sports hub
A shire spokeswoman last week said the compulsory acquisition had not been finalised.
“We are working through the process but cannot provide an estimated time for completion,” she said.
The carnival site was originally part of 32ha purchased by the Phillip Island Shire, at the time mooted as a recreation hub; but was controversially sold to the Watkins family by commissioners appointed by Jeff Kennett at the time of council amalgamations in 1994.
Eight years ago the shire identified the land as a location for a sports hub, aiming to turn the clock back to pre-1994.
The shire that same year bought back 16ha of the original parcel of land from the Watkins, calling it the Hilton Chadwick Reserve – which lies immediately to the west of the carnival site – for future use and development as part of a sporting precinct.
In 2018 the shire initiated a formal process, through Planning Scheme Amendment C153, to compulsorily acquire the remaining 16ha of the original carnival land, explaining that by combining the Hilton Chadwick Reserve with the neighbouring carnival site, the consolidated 32ha would allow for more sports facilities.
