The purpose of this document is to provide a resource document that identifies the specific issues of concern to the Green Wedges Coalition and its partner organisations across all the Green Wedges.
The advocacy themes are divided into:
State Government Programs
The main programs of immediate concern at present are the Smart Planning Program and the Sustainable Animals Industries initiative. These two programs have the potential to destroy the rural values of the Green Wedges.
On 18 July Frankston Council approved plans for a very large double storey ‘place of worship’ on the corner of Boundary and Frankston Dandenong Roads, Carrum Downs, in the South East Green Wedge. The complex also includes two ancillary buildings, a guest house, a caretaker's house and a barn, with a combined footprint exceeding that of the Bunnings Frankston building.
Plan Melbourne Metropolitan Planning Strategy Submissions Analysis - May 2016
This following documentation is a direct extraction of content from the State Government’s recently released Plan Melbourne Metropolitan Planning Strategy Submissions Analysis May 2016 relevant to the issues of the Green Wedge Coalition as detailed in our submission to Plan Melbourne refresh process made in December last year.
This report was independently prepared for the State Government by Capire Consulting.
The Greater Dandenong Council has advised that the Council will be considering a report about submissions received on Amendment C143 at its Ordinary Meeting of the Council on Tuesday 14 June 2016.
Proposed Cemetery in the Green Wedge at Heatherton
The Southern Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust (the Trust) has a proposal for a 130 hectare cemetery in the Green Wedge at Heatherton. Unfortunately, the proposal will result in the conversion of most of the best market garden land in the City of Kingston.
This Amendment is designed to implement the recommendations of Dandenong Council’s commendable Green Wedge Management Plan to protect and improve the Green Wedge.
The Amendment was placed on public exhibition in Feb ’16 and invited comments until 7 Mar ‘16. A planning panel will consider the amendment next July and will take submissions in writing or in person. The panel’s report will go to Dandenong Council and then to the Minister for Planning for his decision.
This is a copy of an article that I preared for Planning News the regular publication of the Planning Institute of Australia, Victorian Division, in March 2015 edition. It discusses the importance of agricultural land use to the future strategic planning for the Green Wedges.
The Green Wedge Coalition (GWC) in its submission to the State Government on Plan Melbourne Refresh Discussion Paper (October 2015) strongly asserted that what is needed in revision of Plan Melbourne for the future of the Green Wedges is:
The Melbourne @ 5 Million documents and consequent plan to expand the UGB to provide further green-field residential land from Green Wedges, announced in December 2009, are based on incorrect and deeply flawed land supply estimates. These invalid figures are the basis upon which the Government has deemed it necessary to move the UGB.
The figures require amendment and other relevant planning and particularly, economic factors require re-examination.
