Related: Big Hill on council agenda
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An independent panel has issued a scathing report on council plans to protect what it describes as Greater Bendigo’s most iconic rural and forested landscape, leaving the city scrambling for answers.
“We are very surprised,” City of Greater Bendigo strategy manager Trevor Budge said.
Mr Budge said the city had been trying to apply a significant landscape overlay to better protect Big Hill and the Mandurang Valley from “inappropriate development” by laying down clear ground rules for future growth.
But the panel’s report, released today, found the proposed planning scheme amendment was “hard to read,” “unclear” and had “the potential to cause some confusion to all stakeholders”.
“The panel is of the view that the current extent of the significant landscape overlay mapping is far too broad, determination of the overlay curtilage is inconsistent and further work is required to give confidence that the [overlay] is acceptable,” the report reads.
“The application of the overlay has been inconsistent – in some cases broadly applied and in other cases irregular.
“[And] the overlay should not be used as a tool to ‘lock out’ development potential.”
Big Hill residents whose campaign helped quash plans for a $500 million, 450-home resort have been left disappointed by an independent panel’s decision to defer council plans to protect the ridge of forest and farmland at the entrance to the city.
Big Hill residents’ big disappointment
Big Hill Action Group spokesman Bruce Carpenter said he had been supportive of council’s plans for a significant landscape overlay for Big Hill and the Mandurang Valley, which would have encompassed the land on which he has lived for 32 years.
“It would have given residents relief from the relentless pressure of inappropriate development,” Mr Carpenter said.
“On the Big Hill side we’ve already massive problems with salinity and gully erosion – this is granite sand country and the geology of the land means it is fundamentally unsuitable for dense development, but still good farming land.
“And this entrance to the city – through farms, forest and vineyards – makes the approach to Bendigo unique.”
Back to drawing board for council
Mr Budge said the city had employed the “most highly-regarded landscape assessment firm in Victoria” which used methodology that had withstood the scrutiny of many other independent panels and state tribunals.
“Which is why we were so surprised – though obviously we’ve got to follow the finding of the panel,” Mr Budge said.
“But this doesn’t quash our plans, in fact the panel explicitly says we should not abandon our work, simply to defer implementation while we add a number of things to the methodology of our plans.”
The city strategy manager said staff would now have to produce a new report outlining the next course of action, which would be put to councillors within coming months.
However, as the additional resources required to hire new consultants and redraft the plan had not been budgeted for, he conceded council may choose to further delay taking action on the overlay.
In the meantime, he said, development could go ahead and council would be on “shaky ground” if it tried to challenge it.
The overlay area includes the sought after Ravenswood Run estate.