Council seeks independent panel to consider proposed Heathcote amendment

THE City of Greater Bendigo council has agreed to request authorisation from the Minister for Planning to appoint an independent panel to review proposed Amendment C274gben.

Amendment C274gben was proposed to give clearer guidance for Heathcote’s local area in the City of Greater Bendigo Planning Scheme when dealing with future planning applications.

“Its purpose is to guide land use and development in the Heathcote town centre and immediate surrounds,” said Mayor Andrea Metcalf.

“This will have a positive impact on the amenity of the area.”It also recommends a number of rezonings, the correction of zoning and overlay anomalies and the application of planning controls to land to manage environmental values.”

Following public consultation earlier this year on proposed amendments to the City of Greater Bendigo planning scheme, seven submissions were received.

Most of the submissions relate to proposed new planning controls for certain parcels of land in Heathcote.

Amendment C274gben proposes to:

• Make various changes, largely to correct zoning and overlay anomalies.

• Rezone land in a Commercial 1 and 2 Zone to a Neighbourhood Residential Zone where land is not appropriate for commercial development.

• Remove the Neighbourhood Character Overlay (NCO) where the Heritage Overlay (HO) also applies.

• Apply Design and Development Overlay 6 to private land that adjoins forested crown land to protect the vegetation and environmental values of the crown land.

• Apply the Environmental Audit Overlay to land on the Back Kyneton Road, formerly the Shire of McIvor landfill.

• Introduce a number of Heathcote-specific policies to the Planning Policy Framework to guide planning decisions in Heathcote.

Council will seek authorisation from the Minister for Planning to appoint a Planning Panel to review the amendment and the submissions received.