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A GROUP which has campaigned for the protection of native vegetation on a piece of Diocese of Sandhurst land in Golden Square say there are pluses to takeaway from a ruling to subdivide the land.
On Friday, Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal members John Bennett and George Rundell ordered a permit be issued to subdivide the land, subject to conditions including the staged subdivision of the land into "not more than 82 lots".
On Tuesday the Diocese of Sandhurst revealed the bushland conservation reserve would be separated from the proposed development site within months, and that stage one of the subdivision would begin later this year.
The Aspinall Action Group held a meeting on Tuesday night after learning about the decision.
Spokesperson Greg Williams said the group was pleased VCAT accepted the group's submission that the smaller lots facing the reserve needed to be increased in size, six lots were to be deleted, and that several large trees along Aspinall Street were to be retained.
Mr Williams said the group had been fighting for the best outcome for the land, and opposition to the proposed subdivision had been necessary in order to ensure certain conditions were met in the permit to ensure the conservation values of the site were retained.
He said the group had been able to achieve a lot in many ways, especially when having to battle zoning laws which didn't work in favour of protecting native vegetation.
"Once the C89 rezoning amendment was taken from the site, there was a prospect of losing everything," he said.
One of the group's key achievements was ensuring that the conditions for the establishment of the Trust For Nature covenant on the proposed nature reserve were clearly set out before any development took place.
"We have been able to push that and have been able to achieve great security for a significant site," Mr Williams said.
"This ruling ensures its ecological future."
He said the site, which he described as "probably the largest and best example of pre-European understorey in the Box-Ironbark forest in the Bendigo region", was ideally suited for educational purposes.
"That's the real value of the site; there is so much to be learned about Box-Ironbark," he said.
"We believe the Aspinall St reserve can help educate the public on the value of the Box-Ironbark Forest and the need for greater protection within the landscape as Bendigo grows."