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Expression of Interest Opportunity

The City is seeking Expressions of Interest (EOI) to license part of the land at Geelong Botanic Gardens – located at the corner of Eastern Park Circuit and Podbury Drive, East Geelong – for a 12-month period.

Twelve individual sites have been identified as potential licensable areas for community activities. The City is seeking proposals from interested individuals and community groups to license one or more of these sites for their proposed use.

The Geelong Botanic Gardens consists of approximately 11 acres of land which is accessible via one entrance and interconnected walking tracks. Public toilets are located on site, and external car parking is available.

This EOI is an invitation to demonstrate your interest and provide your proposal on how the site could be used to meet the below objectives and achieve the desired outcome of this EOI.

We would also like to hear from our community about the City's intention to enter into licences with successful respondents. Feedback can be left below.

Potential licensable areas are indicated by a circle, please click on each to learn more.

Land area

  • Approximately 11 acres – each licensable area maximum 600m2

Restrictions and encumbrances

  • The land at Geelong Botanic Gardens is certified for use as a botanic garden. Activities must protect the integrity of the Botanic Gardens. In addition, no removal of plants or disturbance to trees is permitted.
  • Certain activities may be limited due to other programs already available in the space.

Planning

  • Public Park and Recreation Zone (PPRZ)
  • Heritage Overlay (HO)

Services

The subject property has the following services available:

  • Electricity (at Visitor Centre only)
  • Drinking fountains
  • Public toilets.

    • Outcomes

    Establish a sustainable future use and management of the site for the purpose of providing a service to the community that achieves the following outcomes:

    • Well-utilised activities that support and enhance the vision and mission of the Geelong Botanic Gardens, as well as meet the needs of the local community.
    • Does not have adverse impacts on the surrounding residents, current user groups or the environment.
    • Positive relationship between the City, the new licensee and the local community.
    • Draws people into the Geelong Botanic Gardens, encouraging broader community engagement with the space, its collections, and its unique natural and cultural heritage.

    Objectives

    The objectives of this EOI are:

    • identify the most appropriate use(s) for the site
    • maximise botanic and community benefit from the site
    • expand the range of activities available to the community
    • support Council's Strategic priorities as detailed in Our Community Plan 2021–2025.

    The respondent will be required to hold their own insurance as required by law and the contract conditions and will be required to provide evidence of this insurance coverage within seven days of it being requested by the City.

    The City is offering a licence term of 12 months.

    The City will consider the most appropriate fee structure based on the submissions received.

    The City's process for establishing the licence fee on City land is outlined below.

    • The City will establish the market licence fee for the premises with the market licence fee valuation providing clarity on the subsidy available.
    • The City offers community organisations subsidies for Market Licence Fees – the level of subsidy depends on the type of community use licence category.
    • The City categorises licences as follows:
    Community

    Under the community use category there are three different methods for calculating licence fees depending on whether they are:

    • full community licences where there are no commercial activities, and the applicant demonstrates a low or medium capacity to generate profit. The Minimum Community Licence fee is $500 + GST pa *see below
    • mixed-use community licences where there are commercial activities, and the applicant demonstrates a low or medium capacity to generate profit
    • high profit community licences where the licensee has a high capacity to generate profit from the use of the licensed premises. It is irrelevant whether commercial activities are conducted or not.

    The fee paid by licensees for community use licences involves a subsidy from market licence fees. The level of subsidy depends on the type of community use lease category.

    *The City will consider additional and full fee subsidies for Full Community Use licences of the Geelong Botanic Gardens where the submission demonstrates strong community benefit.

    The table below outlines each category and the summary of licence fee calculation:
    This table outlines community license fee categories, calculation methods, and review mechanisms for different usage types: Full Community Use, Mixed-use, and High Profit.

    The proposed use must be permitted under the current zone. Proposals for rezoning will not be considered.

    The purpose of the zone is:

    • to recognise areas for botanic purposes
    • to protect and conserve areas of significance where appropriate.

    • Community Feedback

      Take the opportunity to share your feedback about the City's intention to enter into licences for this property.

      Share your thoughts 

    The personal information and feedback (collectively the Data) requested on this page is being collected by City of Greater Geelong (City) for the purpose of Expression of Interest for Licences at Geelong Botanic Gardens, and any other directly related purpose (Project).

    A de-identified engagement summary report may be published on our website.

    If your personal information is not collected, the Project may not be able to be adequately conducted, and the City may not be able to contact you for further questions or to find solutions.

    In order to collect and conduct in depth and detailed analysis of the Data for the purposes of the Project, the City will disclose the Data (including your personal information if provided) to its third-party service providers, including Social Pinpoint Pty Ltd, Converlens Pty Ltd and Amazon Web Services.

    Other than as stated above, your personal information will not be disclosed to any external party without your consent, except as required or authorised by law

    Our privacy policy is available on our website. If you wish to alter any of the personal information you have supplied to the City, please contact us by sending an email to privacy@geelongcity.vic.gov.au.