Green Wedges Coalition Advocacy Watchlist 2018

Purpose

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.

• Planning applications

Most of the time and energy of community organisations in the Green Wedges is taken up with objecting to proposed planning applications that are contrary to the purposes of the Green Wedge zones. These are statutory planning matters and revolve around the interpretation of Victoria’s Planning Provisions.

• Planning Scheme Amendments

Planning scheme amendments involve strategic planning and proposed changes to municipal planning schemes. They have the potential for major deleterious impacts on the future of Green Wedge areas.

• Green Wedge Management Plans

In 2002 it was envisaged by the then State Government that all 11 designated Green Wedge areas would have Green Wedge Management Plans. The purpose of these Green Wedge Management Pans is spelt out in the State Government’s Planning Practice Note 31 Preparing a Green Wedge Management Plan.

The reality is that these plans are being prepared based on municipal boundaries rather than integrated across boundaries as originally proposed. This is the inevitable result of the State’s strategic planning process that is focussed on individual municipalities.

These Management Plans are fundamental to the future of the Green Wedges on a municipality by municipality basis. The main forms of coordination across the municipalities by the State Government are limited to the need to conform to the requirements of the State Planning Policy Framework and the provision of broad guidelines. Each management plan has to be the subject of the typical strategic planning process and ultimately signed off by the Minister for Planning.

Summary

The advocacy issue issues in this document are those identified by the Green Wedges Coalition and its partner community organisations that encompass the 11 Green Wedges areas designated in 2002..

The Green Wedges Coalition is also involved with community organisations that have issues for the future of the peri-urban areas immediately surrounding the hinterland of the Melbourne metropolitan area.

While most of the items in this document refer to active matters, a number of case studies have also been included as they are deemed to provide valuable information and guide to community groups facing similar issues in their own Green Wedges.

Please send any information on specific issues of importance to the future of the protection of the Green Wedges to the Alan Thatcher, Secretary, Green Wedges Coalition at email: alancthatcher@gmail.com.