160 community & environment groups across Melbourne have formed a coalition to protect Melbourne's green wedges. We regard maintaining the green wedges for future generations as a yardstick for our generation's commitment to developing a sustainable city in a sustainable world.

Protecting Green Wedges in a parallel planning universe - GWC AGM

The Green Wedges Coalition (Green Wedges Guardian Alliance Inc)  AGM is being held on Thursday 24th November 2022 at 7:00pm by Zoom (see link details below).

Guest Speaker: "Protecting Green Wedges in a parallel planning universe" by Emeritus Professor Michael Buxton, Centre for Urban Research, RMIT University

Click the Zoom link  to attend.

Green Wedge Development Pressure - AGM 2021 Presentation

Author: 
Prof Michael Buxton

Context to present development pressure
The cities which survive this century will be those with the best quality environments. Urban hinterlands are a critical element in sustaining cities. Maintaining the rural values of Melbourne’s green wedges and its broader peri-urban area is essential if the city is to remain a viable place to live. Lose these values and our city will become just another casualty to anonymous global urban sprawl, another city that has obliterated the last vestiges of nature.

02/12/2021

Last call: THE GREEN WEDGES NEED YOU NOW

Please email or submit online to the Government’s consultation

Closing date for submissions: Friday 5th February 2021
 

The Green Wedges are under the most serious threat since the 2010-12 land grabs and the 2013 removal of protections. If you are having problems with the long-form on-line submission guide we sent out earlier, please try the attached short-form submission guide, or use it as a pro forma for a submission you can submit by email.

The State Planning Minister, Richard Wynne's 2018 election pledge was that “A re-elected Andrews Labor Government will permanently tighten controls to better protect Melbourne’s green wedges against over development, with the protections enshrined in legislation”

But some of the options his Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) has put out for consultation would spell death by a thousand cuts around the edges of the Green Wedges as illustrated above. Their proposed "transition" area would blur the Urban Growth boundary with a grey border of suburban sprawl, rezoned to Rural Living zone or Farming zone, where urban uses like concrete crushers, data centres, schools, places of worship, bars, motels, car washes and motor repairs would be encouraged as shown above, and the Green Wedges would shrink  to half their size.

AGM Presentation by Professor Michael Buxton

Warm thanks to the 44 members and supporters who attended our AGM by zoom on 8/12/20.  After the existing committee  was elected unopposed, we heard from our patron and guest speaker, Emeritus Professor Michael Buxton, planner par excellence and author of more than 80 books and papers and 20 research projects. His latest book is  The Future of the Fringe: The Crisis in Peri-urban Planning.  

Highly relevant to his AGM topic, the latest government options paper: Planning for Melbourne’s  Green Wedges and Agricultural Land, which sets out to improve Green Wedge protection but has some disturbing options.

Introducing Prof. Buxton, our president Kahn Franke suggested his next book could be titled: The Precarious future of the Fringe. 

Please click below to hear Professor Michael Buxton presentation to the AGM

AGM reminder

This is a reminder that the Green Wedges Coalition (Green Wedges Guardian Alliance Inc) is being held on Tuesday 8 December 2020 at 5.30 pm. A copy of the agenda is attached. It is being held remotely by Zoom (see link details below).

Most importantly a presentation is being given by Professor Michael Buxton, Centre for Urban Research, RMIT University on Green Wedge and peri-urban issues.

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