The Save Barwon Heads Alliance was formed in July 2007 to advocate for protection of the town boundary against urban sprawl and protection of the internationally significant wetland surroundings of Barwon Heads.
News - 27 January 2010
The Planning Panel Report has now been released and is available from the Council website here.
The Planning Panel Report recommends that the town boundary should be retained as is. The Panel agrees that there is no policy imperative for expanding the boundary, nor is there any community benefit to be gained, or any demonstrable need for expansion. The Panel emphasises the environmental importance and sensitivity of Murtnagurt Lagoon and the wetland channel, affirming it's international significance. They encourage Council and the community to consider this matter some more in the future. They say that any future development would have to pass stringent environmental tests and would only be justified if it would result in a positive environmental improvement to the surrounding fragile and significant wetlands. They also encourage Council to undertake further environmental studies.
The Panel also recommended, against the majority of submittors and Council, that Stage C of the Thirteenth Beach Residential Estate and Golf Course NOT be rezoned to Rural Conservation Zone at this stage in time. They say the proponents should be given 2 years to come up with a suitable development proposal that provides a net environmental benefit and is clearly distinguishable from residential development. If this can't be done, the Panel suggest that Council undertake further work to look at the applying the Rural Conservation Zone, and possibly an Environmental Significance Overlay, to the Stage C land as well as other land in the vicinity of Murtnagurt Lagoon and the wetland channel.
News articles:
Boundary ruling: Bigger Heads denied in the Bellarine Peninsula Independent 29 January 2010
Panel Rejects Heads Change in the Geelong Advertiser 28 Jan 2010
What happens next?
Council will consider the recommendations in the Planning Panel Report and will vote on this on 23 March 2010 (please come to the Council meeting). After that, the Council's decision will be submitted to the Planning Minister for ratification.
Background
November 2009
A Government-appointed Planning Panel Hearing for Amendment C159 was held on 25th November to 3rd December 2009.
SBHA presented a case at the Planning Panel advocating for the viability of the Barwon Heads township in terms of the town boundary and the wetland surroundings. We argued for retention of the green break and the town boundary, the protection of the Ramsar wetlands, and the rezoning of Stage C of the Thirteenth Beach Residential Estate and Golf Course to Rural Conservation Zone. SBHA was represented at the Planning Panel by Senior Counsel M. Quigley, Barrister E. Porter, the Environmental Defenders Office, Ecology Australia Ltd and GeoSurveys Ltd.
Some of the expert evidence presented at the Panel Hearing is available on Council's website here.
August 2009
Council voted on the Structure Plan on 25th August 2009.
At the Council meeting on 25th August, Councillors spoke about the energy and professionalism within the community and acknowledged the passionate efforts to retain the town boundary, the wetland and the green break. Discussion among the Councillors touched on the importance of preventing residential development outside the current boundary, the value of the Ramsar-listed Murtnagurt wetlands, the value of retaining agricultural land use within the region, the future impacts of climate change, the lack of any need for outward expansion, and the lack of rationale for additional golf courses. At the end of the discussion, Councillors voted to retain the town boundary and rezone Stage C of the 13th Beach development to Rural Conservation Zone. This Council decision is an important step in protecting the integrity of Barwon Heads as a small coastal township in the face of increasing pressures for inappropriate and unsustainable development.
For more background, see the timeline of events.
