Final version of Bellarine planning policy released

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 on Friday last week.

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 major 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.

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 directs future growth to strategic locations.

“The community wanted not just town boundaries – that was critical – but also a clearer idea of what could be built inside those town boundaries, and this delivers both of those,” Ms Neville said.

Mr Andrews said he was delighted and thrilled to release the draft final SPP.

“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.”

Combined Bellarine Community Associations chair Dr Lawrence St. Leger welcomed the finalisation of the DAL process.

“This is the outcome, the artefact, but it’s based on the livability of people in this region and their connections to the land,” he said.

“We’ve got more than 50 Friends groups in this region, so a huge number of people are already custodians, along with the Indigenous communities.

“Once you lose it, you don’t get it back.”

Settlement boundaries – particularly in Ocean Grove – and how relaxed or restrictive they should be were hotly debated during the SPP’s exhibition process.

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 the DAL should not contain protected settlement boundaries, but the Victorian government did not accept 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.

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