Final Central Geelong Framework still unreleased

THE final Central Geelong Framework Plan, which will guide future land use and development in the city’s CBD for the next three decades, has still not been released.

The independent Advisory Committee for the plan provided its recommendations to then-Planning Minister Richard Wynne in December last year.In January, the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning said planning scheme amendments were expected to be finalised by the middle of this year.

The plan and proposed planning controls aim to provide a refresh of the planning framework for Geelong’s city centre.

The population in Geelong’s CBD is expected to increase from 2,000 now to more than 12,000 in three decades, and provide employment and services for more than 35,000 people.

Except for the waterfront precinct, which will not allow buildings higher than four storeys (16 metres), all other precincts will have a maximum height limit of at least six storeys (21 metres), with some precincts (including University Hospital Geelong) to be as tall as 12 storeys (42 metres) and the station precinct rising as high as 15 to 18 storeys (60 metres).

Neither the Planning Minister nor Premier Daniel Andrews will be the final decision-maker on the policy.

Mr Wynne stepped down as Planning Minister in June of this year and was replaced by Lizzie Blandthorn, who declared a conflict of interest on planning matters involving lobbying firm Hawker Britton as her brother works for the company.

Speaking to the media in Geelong last week, Mr Andrews did not refute a suggestion that the decision on the Central Geelong Framework Plan would be made not by Ms Blandthorn but by Minister for Environment and Climate Action Lily D’Ambrosio.

“It’s not uncommon for the planning minister of the day to, through a formal process, have another minister make a decision where, very rarely would there be an actual conflict, but if there’s a perceived conflict, you wouldn’t want somebody – a very large developer, for instance – who wasn’t very happy with the planning decision that a planning minister made in support of the community using that perceived conflict of interest to run off to court to turn the whole thing into a lawyer’s picnic,” Mr Andrews said.

He said Mr Wynne, as an example, did not make planning decisions in the housing portfolio when he was both housing minister and planning minister.

Mr Andrews did not offer an opinion about particular height limits in the plan. He said determining precinct structure plans or structure plans would not come to Cabinet nor to him as Premier but exclusively to the respective minister.

‘There’s a clear process about that; I think this matter would be no different.

“The minister will look at the advice of the independent panel – I don’t have in front of me so it’s a bit hard for me to comment on whether I support or otherwise something I haven’t seen, and indeed something I’m not the active decision-maker on.”

To read the draft Central Geelong Framework Plan, head to engage.vic.gov.au/CGFPAC