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Council has reversed its decision to allow a developer to bulldoze a patch of forest and wetlands in Kangaroo Flat.
City of Greater Bendigo councillors voted on Wednesday night to reverse a decision they made two weeks earlier in which they approved a 34-home development on the 2.7 hectare block.
Councillor Peter Cox tabled the rescission motion on the grounds that the density of the development and the loss of all vegetation from the site is not consistent with the intent of the Kangaroo Flat South Regional Centre Structure Plan.
“I want councillors to support local residents who treasure this patch of bush and weltland,” Cr Cox said.
He cited testimony from local residents, a landscape assessor and read excerpts from the urban vegetation assessment.
“It says remnant native vegetation is a key feature of Bendigo’s landscape and enhances scenic and recreational values for the local community,” he said.
“Areas of remnant vegetation provide urban dwellers with a direct link to the natural heritage of their locality, constructing a sense of place in the urban environment.
“That’s under threat.”
Councillor James Williams said he would like to see development “more in keeping” with off-site and on-site issues – specifically raising concerns of increased run-off to the Bendigo Creek.
The developer has proposed to pipe run-off from the site directly into the creek. Cr Williams said that while it might alleviate flooding concerns for those immediately down stream, piping the water might increase erosion.
“There are already trees falling into the creek,” he said. “And when you get erosion it’s a sign that that water has more vigour and more intensity.”
The developer will also have the option to challenge the decision at the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal – a step Cr Cox foreshadowed as a distinct possibility in his pitch to fellow councillors.
“When the application goes to VCAT, we’ve got a choice here,” he said. “We can either support those local people, who’ve been sold a song, and the value of this environmental patch of land which is just so precious in terms of, not only its vegetation – which will be planted somewhere else – but all its wildlife species, which will either be killed or lose their habit completely.”