By Molly Taylor
THE former Blue Lake Welcome Centre operator is frustrated and disappointed no “reasonable explanation” has been given as to why Mount Gambier City Council has decided to not extend the business lease at the prominent location.
Aquifer Tours owners and managers Trish and Garry Turner were informed in August by City Council its John Watson Drive business lease would not be renewed, which was subject to a confidential report.
In a statement issued earlier this week, council said the property management agreement ended one month before the 21-year head licence between SA Water and council for the Crown Land site expired on December 31, meaning the local government body had no valid tenure to extend the current tenancy arrangements.
It ends almost 30 years of service to Mount Gambier’s tourism sector by the Turners, who closed their doors on November 30 following an outpouring of support from customers, with the positive response leaving them heartbroken and angry.
Launched in 1991, the Turners started their operation in a small hut on the corner of Bay Road and John Watson Drive to cater for tourists, providing tours of the Blue Lake Pump Station and a small hospitality business.
In 2004, the Blue Lake Welcome Centre building was established and opened with the Turners investing $100,000 as official funding partners.
Mr Turner said it was a tough and strenuous process to have the storefront developed and stakeholders were at odds over the years.
“This situation is an absolute disgrace, there will now be nowhere for people to sit and enjoy a cold drink, people to buy tickets for tours and I just can’t believe it,” he said.
“I guess I’m also slightly disappointed because we’ve been working with these bodies for almost three decades and we haven’t been given a reasonable explanation.
“It makes me cross as we are funding partners and in a way the component which really made things happen and yet there has been no negotiation or discussion at any level.”
Winning dozens of tourism awards over the years, Mr Turner said the public was stamping its feet and people were voluntarily coming out and sharing their opinion on multiple platforms.
“My problem is I feel like I have done a lot of things right…If they had such a problem, come up and see us, we were free to chat seven days a week,” he said.
Mr and Ms Turner thanked all visitors and customers over the years and are preparing for a break over the peak tourism season.
Tours plan to continue once COVID-19 restrictions allow.
Council acting chief executive Barbara Cernovskis said given council was yet to secure further tenure over the perimeter area of the Blue Lake beyond December 31, it was not able to offer an extension of the current arrangements.
The local government body resolved in July to pursue a different avenue for the high-profile tourism site and its tourism assets as outlined in the 2020-2024 Strategic Plan, with a view to developing and delivering a tourism master plan for the area.
“Council will continue to engage with SA Water and Crown Lands (DEW) with a view to securing future tenure arrangements for the activation of natural and built cultural and tourism assets in this precinct in the new year,” Ms Cernovskis said.
Ms Cernovskis thanked the Turners for their service and council was appreciative of their dedication over the years.
