Pet plan passes – City of Greater Bendigo council meeting briefs

CITY of Greater Bendigo councillors adopted the Domestic Animal Management Plan 2021-2025 at Monday’s regular council meeting.

The plan passed unanimously, after public submissions were considered and elements were debated.

Key aspects of the plan include a 24-hour cat containment policy that could be introduced as early as 2022.

Councillor Julie Sloan said the constant curfew would not kick in overnight, and owners will be able to undertake reasonable preparation to contain their cats.

Cr Sloan also said there have been concerns that cats will need to be indoors all the time, but the plan only outlines a need to contain cats inside the property.

To reduce dog nuisance complaints they’ll be required to remain on leashes throughout the municipality unless in an off-lead designated area.

The full plan is available on the City of Greater Bendigo’s website.

 

More work wanted

An increased volume of planning applications could come before council, after a change to the S6 instrument of delegation was passed.

The instrument delegates power from council to relevant municipal staff, allowing them to make timely decisions without council debate on matters such as health, roads and planning.

Cr David Fagg proposed the change to provision s 61(1) of the Planning and Environment Act 1987, which focuses on planning staff making calls on permit applications.

Under the power, municipal officers can only approve an application if no more than six objections have been received. Cr Fagg, however, proposed the threshold change to no more than four objections.

“In the last six months of council meetings, councillors have only been asked to debate and vote on 12 planning applications,” he said. “That’s only two per month, and I think that’s too few.

“I’m not arguing for the floodgates to open, in general I think it’s a good thing that the bulk of straightforward applications are decided on by planning professionals, but I do think the balance has tipped too far in the wrong direction.”

Crs Fagg, Andrea Metcalf, Jennifer Alden, Matthew Evans, and Vaughan Williams voted in favour of the motion, while Crs Sloan, Greg Penna, Margaret O’Rourke and Rod Fyffe opposed the change.

 

Funding boost for projects

Several contracts have been awarded under delegation, with funding granted for two major community developments.

The Strathfieldsaye Sports Club building redevelopment project received just under $730,000 while the Woodvale Recreation Reserve Community Hub project has got just under $590,000.

Cr Margaret O’Rourke said the upgrades at Strathfieldsaye and Woodvale have been in the works for a while and it’s exciting to see them make progress.

“I know the community are very happy about this one coming forward,” she said. “It’s great to see there’ll be refurbishment of the two changerooms at Club Court at Strathfieldsaye, new umpires’ changerooms, canteen kiosk upgrade and new amenities.”

“[Woodvale] has been in the wings for a very long time… it’s a substantial amount of money for the community of Woodvale who have been waiting for this project for a long time.”

 

VPA called in for BREP

Councillors have requested the Victorian Planning Authority take over the major planning for the Bendigo Regional Employment Precinct.

Earlier this year, the City purchased 155 hectares of land south of Marong for the precinct, designed to provide economic security and allow for more employment opportunities.

VPA is the state’s major planning authority which reports directly to the Minister for Planning, Richard Wynne.

With the VPA overseeing planning for the BREP, the City hopes the development of a master plan and the re-zoning of the farming land in which the BREP is located will be fast-tracked.

The City would continue to be “heavily involved” in the project, by contributing to and reviewing key documents, and endorsing the masterplan.

According to the City, the BREP could provide about 6000 direct and indirect jobs.

 

Veg removalist rejected

A permit has not been awarded to an applicant who had already begun removing native vegetation at CA 7 Steins Road in Huntly, violating the City’s planning policy.

According to a report presented to councillors, in May municipal staff discovered intensive farm animal production was happening at the site, a number of buildings, including one used for habitation, had been built and trees had been cleared.

The applicant presented an amended application, however failed to meet planning scheme requirements.

An objection was received from the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning which stated “DELWP do not support retrospective permit applications”, and Cr Fagg agreed that a permit should not be granted to remove vegetation that had already been removed.

City planning outlines a three-step approach to the removal of native vegetation; avoid removing where possible, minimising how much is removed and offsetting costs to compensate for the loss.

In response to the avoid step, the municipal report stated, “It is insurmountable for the applicant to justify that the proposal has avoided the removal of native vegetation.”

Councillors also agreed the applicant had failed to identify management of bushfire risk, and the level of agricultural activity proposed is less than required for a dwelling to be built in a farming zone.

 

Groups share top dollar

Just over $300,000 has been given to 16 community groups in the latest round of City grants.

The Kangaroo Flat and Eaglehawk Community Houses received $25,000 and $20,000 respectively, while the Bendigo Volunteer Resource Centre, Bendigo Sustainability Group and Goldfields Library Corporation received $20,000 each for their community programs.

The Bendigo BMX Club will also use $20,000 to resurface its track.

A total of $567,010 in funding was sought across 23 applications, however the available large grants budget is $302,592.

Six of the groups receiving funding are community and neighbourhood houses, and Cr Williams said council should advocate for the State Government to fund these services, as they are “regular recipients of large grants.”

“Let’s be honest, it just appears to be cost shifting from State Government to local government,” he said.