CEO Update: 9 December 2016

Dear colleague,

Brompton Lodge PSP approved

Planning Minister Richard Wynne has approved the Brompton Lodge precinct structure plan, which will pave the way for a leafy new community in Melbourne’s south-east.

The Brompton Lodge PSP will consist of 100 hectares of land generally bounded by the Westernport Highway to the west, Ballarto Road to the north, and Cranbourne-Frankston Road to the south.

It will have a population of approximately 4000, who will be serviced by a local town centre, a purpose-built wetlands and leafy district park and bus services to central Cranbourne that will be available from day one.

It is the second approved PSP that was designated a ‘logical inclusion’ to the urban growth boundary. Within the precinct there will be an array of apartments and town houses, walking paths and boulevards.

Since the creation of the Victorian Planning Authority (VPA) in the form of the GAA in 2006, we now have a greenfields sector that leads the country for affordability, diversity and design.

Indeed, the average price of a serviced lot in Melbourne’s greenfield areas is $200,000 cheaper than comparable sites in Sydney.

Click here to learn more about Brompton Lodge.

VPA Bill introduced into the Parliament

The Bill establishing the Victorian Planning Authority has been introduced into the Victorian Parliament. The Bill establishes the new body and clarifies our functions and powers, provides additional guidance around our Board and their appointment and deliberations, as well as updated conflict of interest provisions and other procedural matters.

The Bill will be debated by the Parliament in February 2017 and all being well will be finalised by 1 July 2017. For those interested here is the link to the Bill and our Minister’s second reading speech.

VPA cutting red tape for subdivision approvals

The VPA is cutting red tape and bolstering council resources to ensure housing lots are brought to market in a timely fashion.

We are awarding $447,000 to Melbourne’s seven growth area councils to establish a range of measures that will speed up the processing of subdivision applications.

As we have said above Victoria has the most affordable and well-designed greenfield market in the country, with a serviced lot being more than $200,000 cheaper in Melbourne than equivalent places in Sydney. This has been the result of a lot of hard work and innovation by the VPA and our partners.

We know from councils that they are currently processing 60,000 lot applications at various stages of approval in Melbourne, which would service around three years’ of growth.

Helping local government speed up processing during a time of unprecedented demand will bring more land to market faster.

This will increase overall supply and help Melbourne maintain its housing affordability edge, which is why the State Government has acted.

Councils will use the funding to hire additional staff, invest in innovative programs and identify more efficient methods to process submissions for activities like engineering works.

All councils will regularly report to the VPA about their progress throughout the coming months, and the VPA will assess the program’s effectiveness in 2017.

The VPA will continue to provide support and advice to councils as they implement their ideas.

These grants are just one aspect of the VPA’s Streamlining for Growth program, which aims to reduce delays in the strategic planning system and speed up the delivery of projects that provide employment, growth and housing.

Selandra Rise awarded UDIA excellence award

We are proud to report that Selandra Rise has been awarded a UDIA Victoria award for excellence.

Selandra Rise is a master planned community in Cranbourne East, in Melbourne’s south-east. It was a VPA, PIA, Stockland and City of Casey ‘demonstration project’ that aimed to exceed current standards for new estates by delivering key infrastructure early in the estate’s development.

Major features of the estate include a neighbourhood activity centre that provides a range of jobs and services; a wide variety of housing types; and the 8-star, zero-emission Selandra Community Place.

Planning for Selandra Rise began in 2008 and the first residents moved there in 2011.

Sunshine consultation report

Sunshine workers and residents would like their area to have more businesses, offices and quality restaurants, a new report reveals.

The report is based on public consultation we conducted with the Sunshine community from 16 June – 26 July. Over this period, more than 60 people completed an online survey, 26 people attended focus groups and 40 people attended a business seminar.

The consultation invited participants to provide feedback on the VPA’s key ideas for enhancing the Sunshine National Employment Cluster (NEC) and boosting jobs.

The VPA will now use this feedback to develop a framework plan for the Sunshine NEC, in close collaboration with Brimbank City Council.

Finally

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Cheers,