CEO update

Dear colleague,

Altona North

As you might have read in today’s Herald Sun, the VPA and Hobsons Bay City Council have released an exciting new plan to transform a former industrial site in Altona North into a contemporary community.

The Altona North Comprehensive Development Plan (CDP) was prepared by the Victorian Planning Authority and will be open for community consultation tomorrow.

Key features of the plan include a new town centre, 3000 homes, commercial office space providing over 1000 jobs and extensive cycle paths, including a connection to Federation Trail.

Developers of the precinct will contribute $53 million towards community infrastructure and facilities. This land is currently zoned for industrial uses and was formerly the site of several manufacturing businesses, including the Don Smallgoods factory.

The site was first identified for development in the 2008 Hobsons Bay Industrial Land Management Strategy. Due to the complexity of the site, the Minister for Planning asked the VPA to prepare a plan for the area – one of the first strategic sites on our work program. If approved, this plan will deliver a range of diverse housing within established Melbourne.

We are delighted this plan has progressed to the stage of exhibition, and we look forward to meeting with stakeholders and the community to hear their feedback and ideas for the area.

MAV conference

On 30 June, I spoke at the Municipal Association of Victoria’s Rural and Regional Planning Conference in Inverloch, discussing the growth potential of our regional towns and cities and the VPA’s focus in Victoria’s regions.

I was pleased to meet a number of new colleagues with an interest in the challenges and opportunities for planning and shaping communities in regional Victoria.

VPA legislation

The VPA officially entered a new chapter in our organisation’s history on 1 July, when the Victorian Planning Authority Act 2017 formally commenced. While we did undergo a name change in August last year, the commencement of the Act officially abolishes the GAA and empowers the VPA to work with councils and communities to plan for new suburbs and transform existing ones.

This is a key step in the evolution of the VPA, providing clear direction for our work with our partners to deliver the integrated, place-based planning outcomes that government has tasked us to deliver.

For the past decade, our organisation has designed new communities in Melbourne’s seven growth area municipalities, resulting in 60 approved precinct structure plans. More recently, the VPA has been undertaking planning for the urban renewal of key established precincts and planning for the strategic growth of regional cities and towns.

Job advertisements

The City of Monash is currently recruiting for the following role:

Urban Renewal and Facilitation Officer (Band 7 – Temporary 12 month Full time)

This is a great opportunity for a city-shaping role with City of Monash as an Officer working with the state government, major stakeholders and community, helping to deliver Plan Melbourne actions for the Monash National Employment and Innovation Cluster. This role is being funded by the VPA through our Streamlining for Growth Program.

Finally

Please call our office or me on (03) 9651 9600 if you have any questions or suggestions on these or any other items, or reply accordingly if you no longer wish to receive these emails.

Best regards,

Stuart.