Out of line: Association disappointed by public hearing on town boundaries

THE Ocean Grove Community Association (OGCA) is extremely disappointed by the Victorian government’s decision to consult further about the town’s settlement boundaries, saying public sentiment on the boundaries could not be any clearer.

Permanent growth limits for all the towns on the peninsula is one of the most significant outcomes proposed in the Bellarine Peninsula Distinctive Area and Landscape (DAL) program.

There will be a public hearing on the settlement boundaries in April, but OGCA chair Phil Edwards said the association’s “Enough is Enough” campaign to retain Ocean Grove’s boundaries in their existing location had already received more than 7,200 signatures.

“It is hard to imagine how the community’s view on the boundary issue could have been expressed more loudly or more clearly.

“We therefore find it somewhat curious that the Planning Minister (Richard Wynne) has chosen to apparently throw his support behind developers by raising their expectations that the location of our township boundaries is still up for grabs, in contradiction of the government’s own promises.

“While community groups and some individual community members will no doubt make presentations to the Advisory Committee to ensure their views are heard, this process strongly favours the developers with their apparently unlimited financial resources to engage high level legal representation and a raft of paid technical experts, which community groups simply cannot afford.”

Public consultation about the DAL’s draft Statement of Planning Policy (SPP) has found drawing a definitive line around towns generally and Ocean Grove in particular is one of the most divisive issues in the entire DAL.

Landowners and developers argue the boundaries are too strict and will limit housing options, while residents and community groups argue for no more urban development and protecting the character of their towns.

As a result, Mr Wynne in late January referred the relevant public submissions – 131 of the 620 received, or more than a fifth – to the DAL’s Standing Advisory Committee (SAC) for independent advice, including a public hearing.

The SAC will advise on whether the protected settlement boundaries in the draft SPP are appropriate and whether any amendments to those protected settlement boundaries should be made.

“Let there be no mistake, the existing Ocean Grove town settlement boundary is clearly under attack by developers seeking to get more land for residential development,” Mr Edwards said.

“This is despite council having determined in 2017 there was, based on strong growth calculations, 18 years of existing vacant residential land inside the existing settlement boundaries of the towns on the Bellarine.

“Perhaps developers could get existing vacant residential land to the market quicker than what they are doing – maybe the slow release of existing residential land keeps up the prices of residential blocks and gives the appearance of a shortage of residential land.”

The SAC will hold a directions hearing online on March 11 and will begin a public hearing, expected to last about two weeks, on April 26.

The Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, which is acting on behalf of the Planning Minister, must provide all submitters to the hearing with both parts of its submission to the SAC by April 14.