News
Member Spotlight: The Ranch MP - Receives Major Development Approval

ACA Member, The Ranch Mornington Peninsula, (Victoria) has been successful in securing Major Development Approval through the Victorian Government's Enabling Tourism Fund.

The ACA's Events & Communications Manager, Jess Hough, reached out to Jodi Neary, Chief Adventurer at The Ranch to congratulate the team on the achievement and request information to share with the ACA Community.

Jodi provided the following information about the announcement:

​​​​"We’re thrilled to have Council unanimously approve our project last month (September 2024) - a ‘World Class Action Sports Facility’ - a fun, inclusive, safe and inspiring environment for people of all ages, abilities and backgrounds. It will feature new activities, including wake, skate, snow, bmx and mountain bike trails – the whole gamete of action sports. It will also include additional accommodation, a new function centre; and additional caravan sites.

This facility will offer new recreational opportunities for the community, especially for those not engaged in organised sport. It will encourage healthy lifestyles, life-long participation in action sports and help contribute to physical and mental wellbeing benefits. With adaptive equivalents for all activities, it will also ensure full accessibility.

In addition to our current school groups and general public (on weekends), it will attract a diverse and broad patronage including elite athletes, team training camps, corporate events, domestic and international tourists and organised competitions. Catering for spectators will also be important.

The action sport community is thriving, with significant interest sparked by the Tokyo and more recently, Paris Olympics. However, Australia lacks adequate facilities to meet this growing demand. Our project aims to fill this gap, especially in The Mornington Peninsula, an area facing socio economic challenges and youth disengagement.

The existing programs and facilities at The Ranch target children and youth; families and schools. The vision would expand these opportunities to attract more young people. With skilled and passionate coaches, the fundamentals of each sport can be nurtured in a safe, controlled and fun environment where progression can be achieved.

Economically, the project is forecast to create 300 Full time construction jobs and sustain over 100 ongoing jobs, providing vital employment opportunities, particularly for young people.

We have strong support from peak bodies including, Skate, Snow and Cycling Australia; and we are thrilled at the recent announcement that our project was successful in securing the Enabling Tourism Fund. We are truly grateful to have State government support for our project.

There’s no better time for this project after our Aussie’s winning gold in the Women’s and Men’s Skateboarding, BMX Race and bronze in BMX Freestyle. What an exciting space, place and opportunity!"

We look forward to hearing more about the developments as they progress.