GREATER GEELONG PLANNING SCHEME AMENDMENT C138 ARMSTRONG CREEK URBAN GROWTH PANEL INDEPENDENT PANEL REPORT
The Armstrong Creek Urban Growth Plan provides the development framework for Geelong's primary growth area and is one of the City's largest strategic planning projects.
It aims to concentrate the majority of growth in Geelong to a comprehensive community in the area south of the railway line and includes parts of the suburbs and localities of Grovedale, Marshall, Connewarre and Mount Duneed.
The vision is for Armstrong Creek to be developed into a sustainable community that sets new benchmarks in best practice urban development.
The Urban Growth Area is approximately 2,350 hectares with an estimated capacity of 22,000 dwellings, and a potential population of 54,000 persons. The area will provide a range of housing densities, a sub-regional activity centre, local activity centres, employment areas, transport networks and open space.
Amendment C138 was exhibited for a period of ten weeks between December 2006 and February 2007 and Council received 115 submissions covering a wide range of issues such as the East West Link Road, location of the Sub-Regional Activity Centre, the amount of Open Space and Biodiversity Corridors, the location of the Urban Growth Boundary, the Greenways concept, Development Contributions and the designation of Employment Land.
The submissions were referred to an Independent Panel appointed by the Minister for Planning. The Panel has completed the public hearing and released its report with recommendations regarding Amendment C138.
Council Officers will assess these recommendations on merit and report back to Council in April 2008.
The aspirational vision for sustainable best practice urban development and the principles that underpin that vision remain paramount. Council wants the best environmental outcomes for the community, particularly in the light of climate change.
There is an imperative to accelerate the development process due to a shortage in future land supply. To enable that acceleration, Council officers have developed an Infrastructure Delivery Plan and an assessment of both the capability and capacity of developers. These, combined with Council's response to the Independent Panel Report will inform the next level of planning.
The Planning Partnership, recently established in conjunction with the State Government, will assist greatly in speeding up the process. The Planning Partnership brings together all the relevant agencies to pool resources and thinking and will be a definite bonus when it comes to making decisions.
The Independent Panel appointed by the Minister for Planning's report can be viewed below.
