Barwon Heads is not a growth location. When you take a regional approach to planning, there is no justification for expansion.
Here’s what the planners say:
“Arguments that further growth is required to maintain lot supply and housing affordability are not supported. Land supply in Barwon Heads must be considered in the context of the role and function of the settlement within the wider municipality. Barwon Heads is not designated as a growth location and is in fact situated between two areas which are strategically supported for further urban development; Ocean Grove and Armstrong Creek.
These two locations have long been designated to accommodate the future expected growth in Geelong and the Bellarine Peninsula, in order that other smaller coastal towns and sensitive environments can be protected. The release of some land could potentially result in market competition in Barwon Heads, however the effects on prices would be short-lived. Likewise, whether the price of this land would be realistically affordable is not within the control of the regulatory framework.”
The proposed expansion is a tipping point. Development at 1920 Barwon Heads Rd would set a precedent for unstoppable urban sprawl from here to Geelong.
Here’s what the planners say:
“Fundamentally, it is not the physical capability of the land which is at question but the lack of strategic imperative for Barwon Heads to be subject to further growth and development. Rezoning and development of any parcel of land on the western fringe of the township has the potential to create an undesirable precedent along the whole western boundary of the township, with the prospect of further substantial urban growth to the extent that the village atmosphere of the township would be threatened and its centralised services and facilities seriously over-stretched.
“It is considered that urban development outside of the existing boundary would irrevocably erode the ‘village’ atmosphere of the town and undermine the vision of the town in 2016, which aspires to be a place ‘where human impact is managed to support the fragile natural surroundings’.”
The proposed expansion does not meet the requirements of State policy on coastal planning.
Here’s what the planners say:
“It is considered that further development in Barwon Heads does not meet the criteria of the Victorian Coastal Strategy, which states that further urban development in coastal areas should only be supported ‘If there is an overriding need for greenfield development and one that can be sustained on rigorous environmental planning grounds’.
“The Landscape Setting Types for the Victorian Coast (1998) document makes specific reference to Barwon Heads, identifying that spreading urban development is compromising the coastal quality of the area, with its high conservation values and flat open landscape with low visual absorption. …
Each of the key strategic documents, including the Coastal Spaces report, place particular emphasis on the open-landscaped environment surrounding Barwon Heads and its value to the wider area.”
The proposed expansion would have direct negative impacts on the sensitive wetland surrounds.
Murtnaghurt Lagoon, at the bottom of the property at 1920 Barwon Heads Road, is part of a Ramsar-listed wetland system of international significance. Murtnaghurt is already under stress due to surrounding urban development and golf courses. Further encroachment would cause environmental degradation due to storm-water pollution, changes to the natural wet/dry cycle and invasion by pest animal and weed species. The site also requires protection as an important place for indigenous cultural heritage. Here’s what the planners say:
“The surrounding landscape features of Barwon Heads play important roles: providing intrinsic habitat and biodiversity values to the local and wider environment and establishing the identity of the township and community. The designation of a Settlement Boundary to exclude the key environmental features will assist in the protection of these areas, which are presently mostly unaffected by urban encroachment.
“The Department of Sustainability and Environment was ‘unaware of any overriding policy or strategic support for growth of the town beyond its existing boundaries’ and advised that their office would prefer that residential development did not approach Murtnaghurt Lagoon any closer than the existing western boundary.”
The community facilities suggested by the property developer as sweeteners are not needed. They are unjustifiable on the grounds of policy and strategic planning, and cannot be guaranteed to eventuate anyway.
The developer claims that urban development of 1920 Barwon Heads Rd would allow community facilities to be built there, such as a maternal and child health centre. The planners say:
“While some community benefit could be achieved through the rezoning of land to residential (i.e. expanded sporting facilities, land for aged care and children’s services) these benefits do not outweigh the broader policy objectives. Advice from service authorities has stated that, at this time, there is no need to provide additional or expanded services within Barwon Heads, including education facilities. Ocean Grove has a significant role to play in the supply of secondary community and commercial services to Barwon Heads, now and in the future, as will Armstrong Creek. Residential growth into peripheral, poorly connected sites, is contrary to State and Local Planning policies which support the development of centrally located facilities and services which can be efficiently accessed by the wider community.”
Moreover, a property developer is under no legal obligation to come good on any of the ‘promises’ in their promotional material. The planning process is such that there is no guarantee for the community that such sweeteners would eventuate.
Barwon Heads will be particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change.
Wetlands mitigate against the effects of climate change. We should be fixing the health of the natural ecosystems surrounding our town, not placing them under further stress. Here’s what the planners say:
“Limiting further urban development in Barwon Heads also takes into account the potential impacts of climate change and the Precautionary Principle advocated by the Coastal Spaces report. Given its location and the history of flood events, the township will be particularly vulnerable to any effects of climate change. Although further information is required on climate change, it is considered that the ‘no-risk’ approach should be adopted for Barwon Heads, to avoid compounding the problem in the future. It is acknowledged that much of the land that will potentially be effected by climate change is located within the existing urban area and that the land on the southern side of the Barwon Heads Road will be less vulnerable to the impacts, given its elevated topography, nonetheless the effects of storm events and flooding will effect the land adjacent to Murtnaghurt Lagoon.”
Change is going to happen, but we don’t have to accept change that is dictated by profit-driven property developers, particularly when their proposals clash with local and state government planning policy.
What we need is what the planners themselves have indicated:
“For Barwon Heads to achieve the visions established in the Urban Design Framework and the Bellarine Peninsula Strategic Plan, a shift to progressive, environmentally aware behaviour and actions is required from the community and its visitors. The topography and layout of the town provides tremendous opportunities for Barwon Heads to become a town which operates as a ‘sustainable village’, where protection of the sensitive environmental features and walking and cycling are parts of everyday life.”
“People are attracted to the town for its sensitive landscape, its river and coastal setting and scenic pedestrian environment, which are important features that need to be protected, to ensure that the very essence of the town’s attractiveness is not lost.”
In regard to the interface with the open rural landscape and wetlands the Barwon Heads Urban Design Framework (2003) identified that:
‘It is a strongly held view in the local community that the established township should not extend beyond its current urban zoned limits at the western edge. This position arises out of a concern for the environmental qualities of the internationally recognised site and a desire to protect the landscape character of the wetlands area, rather than a purely ‘anti-development’ stance’.”
In addition to what the planners have said here, it’s not just the community and its visitors that need to shift to progressive environmentally aware behaviour—it’s our decision-makers—i.e. local Councillors and State politicians.
