PLANNING PROGRESS: City ramps up urgency for growth zone development

CITY of Greater Geelong councillors will have more oversight of the city’s crucial residential growth plans and will seek greater government support for their delivery.

The council voted this week to progress its planning program for the Northern and Western Geelong Growth Areas at Lovely Banks and Batesford, outlining a four-year roadmap towards development of Precinct Structure Plans (PSPs) for the new communities.

Under an amended resolution adopted on Tuesday this week, council officers must provide public six-monthly updates and annual reports to councillors about progress and timelines of the PSPs.

Councillors have also asked for advice about long-term infrastructure demands and delivery, especially for public transport, and for the role of federal and state governments to fund the necessary projects for the two growth areas.

The city’s evaluation will explore how it will develop future PSPs and whether it hands more responsibility to the Victorian Planning Authority.

Councillors said the changes recognised the urgency of timely and careful delivery of the growth plans as the city comes under increasing pressure from landowners and developers to create the blueprints.

Development of PSPs would allow land developers to apply for subdivisions and begin building the communities, which will cater for the bulk of greater Geelong’s medium-term population growth and eventually be home for about 110,000 residents.

Cr Aitken said the PSP plan was “the most significant planning document we’ll see for the next 30 years”, and said the additional measures aimed to ensure its delivery met the city’s lofty objectives.

“This amendment is intending to improve accountability, improve reporting and we’re elevating our interest in this project, as opposed to saying to officers here’s your stamp, go off and do it.

“This is a very significant project risk and financial risk to council.

“We’re deciding how 110,000 additional people will live in Geelong, and importantly how we connect the existing 240,000 in Geelong. We can’t do it alone.

“We call on the state and federal governments to assist us with that responsibility and provide financial and planning support and assistance so we can fulfil the original planning principles that were established.”

The city’s planning and economy director Gareth Smith indicated at the meeting that officers supported the amendments and helped draft changes, which he said were “consistent with how we’d… work with council anyway on such a significant project”.

Under the plan adopted this week, the council will prepare Batesford North, Heales Road West and Elcho Road West PSPs during the 2023/24 financial year, with negotiations with landowners and developers to begin early next year.

In 2025/26, the City of Greater Geelong would develop Meerawap and McCanns Lane, which was expanded to include a large land holding south of the existing boundary at the request of the McCann family, who are prominent landowners in the area.

The second batch of PSPs is subject to securing funding pathways for north-south and east-west transport links within the growth area, and concept designs for a Batesford South bridge and Church Street connection leading into central Geelong.

The city is due to finalise PSPs for the Creamery Road precinct in the first half of 2022, and Elcho Road East in the latter half.