By Jed Lanyon
Businesses along Healesville’s Lilydale Road are pushing to see the area upgraded to become a major tourism precinct of the Yarra Valley.
Gin giant Four Pillars is leading the campaign alongside Payten and Jones Winery, No. 7 Restaurant and the Terminus Hotel to see the road linked with the Yarra Valley Railway and future bike path projects in a boost for tourism in the area.
Four Pillars co-founder Cameron Mackenzie told Star Mail now is the perfect time to give the local tourism industry a ‘shot in the arm’ following the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic.
“In a nutshell, Lilydale Road is in dire need of an upgrade,” he said. “All of the property owners, including the (Healesville) police, have co-signed a letter to council stating there are significant safety issues on the road.
“There’s a huge upside to upgrading that road, where it can become quite an important precinct in the region.”
Mr Mackenzie recently spoke at a Yarra Ranges Council meeting on late budget submissions. He explained how recent Federal Government infrastructure funding provided to council could be used to fund a project for Lilydale Road.
“That infrastructure funding is a stimulus package designed for economic recovery. Spreading it thinly to an already budgeted footpath program doesn’t make sense from an economic recovery point of view.
“Rebuilding after coming out of this Covid-19 mess is an ideal opportunity to make the street safe and really make a jewel in the crown of Victorian tourism.
“Council has been proactive in designing the upgrade but we now need to see it developed.”
Mr Mackenzie highlighted several issues the road faces such as its poor condition, the lack of formal parking and pedestrian crossings, the high speed of traffic turning off the highway and inadequate drainage.
Four Pillars’ proposals were also signed off by Healesville Lions Club, Liberty Church and McKenzie’s Bus Lines.
Council recently announced an expected -14 per cent contraction in Yarra Ranges’ economy, and a forecast 20.5 per cent decrease in Yarra Ranges’ Gross Regional Product, which equates to a loss of around $1.35 billion.
“Covid-19 is having a crippling effect on many industries especially those in tourism,” Mayor Richard Higgins said. “While typically we would welcome around 6.6 million visitors each year to the Yarra Ranges, we are not likely to see those numbers again for some time to come.”
