Bellarine’s final boundaries confirmed

THE question of town boundaries across the Bellarine has been definitively resolved, with the state government releasing its final Bellarine Peninsula Statement of Planning Policy (SPP).

Premier Daniel Andrews and Bellarine MP Lisa Neville announced the SPP – the end result of the Bellarine Peninsula Distinctive Area and Landscape (DAL) program – to a crowd of civic and community leaders at the Ocean Grove SLSC clubrooms earlier today (Friday, October 7).

The draft final SPP, which Ms Neville said would become law “as soon as possible” and “before the state election”, is almost identical to the previous draft SPP released in late June 2021, with the only obvious change being the inclusion of the “Collendina Hotel” site inside the Ocean Grove town boundary, which Ms Neville said was done because of supportive community feedback.

The policy sets out a 50-year vision for the entire Bellarine Peninsula and to the west as far as Moolap and the eastern border of Armstrong Creek, declared as a distinctive area and landscape in 2019, to guide development controls and boundaries.

It locks in protected settlement boundaries for all townships, to ensure the Bellarine’s agricultural areas, landscapes, environmental features, small villages and towns are protected from inappropriate development and direct future growth to strategic locations. 

Settlement boundaries – particularly in Ocean Grove – were hotly debated during the SPP’s exhibition process, with landowners and developers arguing the boundaries were too strict and would limit housing options, and residents and community groups arguing for no more urban development and protection of the character of their towns.

As a result, former planning minister Richard Wynne referred the relevant public submissions about the boundaries to the DAL’s Standing Advisory Committee (SAC) for independent advice.

The SAC recommended that the DAL should not contain protected settlement boundaries, but the Victorian government has not accepted this recommendation.

In a statement, the new Planning Minister, Lizzie Blandthorn, said the advice and recommendation from the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning was to not accept SAC’s recommendation.

“We have heard the community and need to stop the incremental creep that has been happening over time which is impacting distinctive attributes and features that the community care about. The best way to stop that is to have protected settlement boundaries,” she wrote.

The final draft policy was developed in collaboration with the Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation, the Borough of Queenscliff, the City of Greater Geelong following extensive consultation with community and industry.

“We promised to protect our iconic Bellarine Peninsula – and that’s exactly what we’ve done, boosting the local economy and making sure locals and tourists can enjoy this beautiful part of Victoria well into the future,” Mr Andrews said.

To read the draft final SPP and other documents in the DAL program, head to engage.vic.gov.au/project/distinctive-areas-and-landscapes-program/page/bellarine-peninsula