D-Day looms for DAL

BELLARINE community groups and housing stakeholders will have their final chance to influence their region’s Distinctive Area and Landscape (DAL) from next week when the policy’s critical public hearings process begins.

A Standing Advisory Committee (SAC) of state planning experts will begin video conference hearings on Tuesday, April 26, beginning a marathon six-week sitting that is due to finish on June 7.

Almost 40 parties will present to the SAC during the hearing process, including local councils, state authorities, Bellarine community groups, residents and housing developers to provide their views and evidence.

The SAC will have until August 2, 40 business days from the end of the hearings, to submit its report to State Planning Minister Richard Wynne for consideration before release of the final statement of planning policy.

The committee comprises of 14 panellists with diverse backgrounds in major planning decisions, town planning, social science, environment research, law and civil engineering.

Planning Panels Victoria chief panel member Kathy Mitchell AM will chair the SAC.

The final decision is set to come about three-and-a-half years since the Bellarine DAL was first declared in April 2019.

The DAL has attracted hundreds of submissions during public consultation as residents and stakeholders had their say on the significant planning document, which is set to shape Bellarine planning decisions for decades.

A key flashpoint of the DAL is defining settlement boundaries of Bellarine towns, which guide where future housing developments are permitted.

Developers have argued for expanding the boundaries to cater for ongoing appetite for the coastal property market, while community groups are campaigning against urban development and to preserve their towns’ character.

The Combined Bellarine Communities Association (CBCA) is among the lobby organisations that will present its case during the hearings process.

“It’s time to say no more on the Bellarine,” CBCA chair Lawrence St Ledger said.

“In order to make the place liveable and continue to make the Bellarine as it is for the residents and visitors, we need to stop urban sprawl.”

Meanwhile, community groups for individual towns are seeking further momentum for their push to limit town settlement boundaries before presenting their case to the committee.

Ocean Grove Community Association has led the way, launching a petition in the early stages of the DAL process calling for state and local authorities to stand firm on existing borders, which had amassed more than 7,900 signatures earlier this week.

St Leonards, Point Lonsdale, Queenscliff, Barwon Heads, and Drysdale-Clifton Springs-Curlewis community groups are among those also speaking at the hearing.