BOUNDARY PLANS Distinctive Area and Landscape open houses to be held on the Bellarine this weekend

THE Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) will start hosting community open houses on the Bellarine from this weekend to give community members a say on development controls and settlement boundaries.

DELWP is working in partnership with the City of Greater Geelong, the Borough of Queenscliffe and Traditional Owners, the Wadawurrung, to declare the Bellarine Peninsula a Distinctive Area and Landscape under the Planning and Environment Act 1987.

Once declared, a Statement of Planning Policy will be prepared which will include a 50-year vision and strategies, including long-term settlement boundaries, to better protect the unique features of the Bellarine Peninsula for current and future generations.

Open house sessions will be conducted in Portarlington on Saturday June 22 at Portarlington Parks Hall (87 Newcombe Street) between 11am and 1pm; St Leonards on Monday June 24 at St Leonards Reserve Hall (2 Cole Street) between 11am and 1pm; Queenscliff on Monday June 24 at Queenscliff Uniting Church Hall (corner Hesse and Stokes streets) between 5-7pm; and Drysdale on June 28 at St James Hall (55 Collins Street) between 6-8pm.