Public hearing into Surf Coast DAL begins

THE public hearing into the Surf Coast Distinctive Area and Landscape (DAL) program has begun its 26 days of deliberations, and some of the major players have made their opening arguments.

The DAL Standing Advisory Committee started its timetable of hearings via Zoom on Monday this week and will continue to do so, four days a week, for the next six weeks.

The Surf Coast DAL, declared by the state government in September 2019, centres on Torquay but extends as far west as the nearby hinterland of Bellbrae and Freshwater Creek and also takes in the southern part of the growth area of Mount Duneed.

The committee has collected submissions in response to the draft Surf Coast Statement of Planning Policy (SPP) and the proposed landscape planning controls, and several representatives of stakeholder groups made opening submissions on the hearing’s first day.

These included the Victorian Planning Minister; the Surf Coast Shire and City of Greater Geelong councils; Christian College Geelong; landholders DF (Sprague Farm) Developments Pty Ltd and The Camerons/DFC Services Pty Ltd, Duffield Road Pty Ltd and Zeally Investments Pty Ltd, and Mack Property Development Group Pty Ltd; and community groups 3228 Residents Association, Greater Torquay Alliance and Surf Coast Energy Group.

Standing Advisory Committee chair Kathy Mitchell said the committee “had not made its mind up on any issue” and would not do so until it heard all the evidence, but offered some “preliminary observations” based on what it had received so far.

“There has been, and continues to be significant work done by the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning on planning reform, and the committee is concerned the duplication of new planning controls may duplicate what is in place or may add extra layers to an already complicated system,” Ms Mitchell said.

She said the committee was also unsure how the proposed SPP would act in practice.

“The burden of implementation will fall on the Surf Coast Shire and City of Greater Geelong councils.”

One of the most contentious issues in the draft SPP is the future of Torquay’s Spring Creek valley, for which it proposes two possibilities: Option 1, which earmarks land 1km west of Duffields Road for “low density ecologically sustainable development”; and Option 2, which fixes the settlement boundary at Duffields Road and rules out any development in the valley at all.

In response to a question from Ms Mitchell about whether the Planning Minister only wanted advice about Option 1 or Option 2, the minister’s representative Marita Foley said the draft SPP “had not canvassed other options”.

“It’s essentially not appropriate to be making recommendations to options that aren’t identified in the SPP,” Ms Foley said.

“However, the committee has been asked to respond and to make findings in response to submissions made by other parties.”

She said if the committee found neither Option 1 nor Option 2 was appropriate, “it would be appropriate to make a different recommendation”.
The hearing will run from Mondays to Thursdays from 10am-4.30pm until April 29.

For the full timetable and to read the submissions, tabled documents and expert evidence, which the Standing Advisory Committee is progressively publishing on its website, head to engage.vic.gov.au/dalsac.