Bass Coast Distinctive Areas and Landscapes
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Bass Coast Distinctive Areas and Landscapes Discussion Paper March 2020 Acknowledgments We acknowledge and respect Victorian Traditional Owners as the original custodians of Victoria's land and waters, their unique ability to care for Country and deep spiritual connection to it. We honour Elders past and present whose knowledge and wisdom has ensured the continuation of culture and traditional practices. We are committed to genuinely partner, and meaningfully engage, with Victoria's Traditional Owners and Aboriginal communities to support the protection of Country, the maintenance of spiritual and cultural practices and their broader aspirations in the 21st century and beyond. Photo credit Visit Victoria content hub © The State of Victoria Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence. You are free to re-use the work under that licence, on the condition that you credit the State of Victoria as author. The licence does not apply to any images, photographs or branding, including the Victorian Coat of Arms, the Victorian Government logo and the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) logo. To view a copy of this licence, visit creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Disclaimer This publication may be of assistance to you but the State of Victoria and its employees do not guarantee that the publication is without flaw of any kind or is wholly appropriate for your particular purposes and therefore disclaims all liability for any error, loss or other consequence which may arise from you relying on any information in this publication. Accessibility If you would like to receive this publication in an alternative format, please telephone the DELWP Customer Service Centre on 136 186, or email customer. [email protected], or via the National Relay Service on 133 677, www. relayservice.com.au. This document is also available on the internet at www.delwp. vic.gov.au Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning Content Introduction 4 About Bass Coast 4 Distinctive areas and landscapes 4 Declaration of the Bass Coast 4 Bass Coast Statement of Planning Policy 4 Community engagement 5 Bass Coast precincts 6 Waterline and Bass River Catchment Precinct 7 Phillip Island Precinct 8 Bass Hinterland Precinct 10 Regional Centre Precinct 12 Bunurong Coast Precinct 14 Developing a shared vision 15 Have your say 15 Policy domains 16 Landscapes 17 Heritage 18-19 Biodiversity and environmental values 21 Economy and infrastructure 22-23 Environmental risks and resilience 24-25 List of tables Settlements 26 Table 1: Bass Coast Shire population projections 26 Appendix A Bass Coast residential Table 2: Bass Coast settlement hierarchy 27 land supply 32 Table 3: Draft Bass Coast Residential Land Supply 29 Table 4: Bass Coast residential land supply by township 32 List of figures Figure 1: Proposed Bass Coast precincts 6 Figure 2: The Waterline and Bass River Catchment Precinct Area 7 Figure 3: Phillip Island Precinct Area 8 Figure 4: Bass Hinterland Precinct Area 11 Figure 5: Regional Centre Precinct Area 12 Figure 6: Bunurong Coast Precinct Area 14 Bass Coast Distictive Areas and Landscapes Discussion Paper 3 Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning Introduction About Bass Coast The Bass Coast Shire forms part of Melbourne’s peri-urban area and is located about 130 km east of the Central Business District, close to Melbourne’s south-east growth corridor. It has an enormous variety of much-valued landscape, heritage, biodiversity, environmental, economic, infrastructure and settlement values. This discussion paper explains these values, which attract a growing number of visitors and residents to the shire to live, work and play. The values that make Bass Coast so attractive are coming under increasing pressure from development, visitors and the impacts of climate change (such as flooding and erosion), which increasingly threaten to degrade the shire’s landscape, environment and heritage values. Distinctive areas and landscapes Bass Coast Statement of Planning Policy Metropolitan Melbourne and regional cities peri- The declaration was the first step in the urban areas are of outstanding natural beauty and government’s commitment to protect the Bass have great social, environmental, economic and Coast’s distinctive attributes. The declaration cultural heritage significance. They provide habitat triggers the development of a draft Statement of for endangered and threatened species and work, Planning Policy (SPP) by DELWP in partnership with tourism and recreational opportunities. They also the Bass Coast Shire Council and the Bunurong Land provide essential infrastructure and services (such Council Aboriginal Corporation (BLCAC). as clean air, drinking water, food and resources). The SPP will create a framework for the future use Under the Planning and Environment Amendment and development of land in the DAL, to ensure its (Distinctive Areas and Landscapes) Act 2018, an area attributes are protected. It will include: in Victoria can be declared a ‘distinctive area and landscape’ (DAL) if it meets certain attributes and if • a 50-year vision identifying the values and its social, cultural, environmental and economic attributes to be protected and enhanced values could be lost or irreversibly damaged by the impacts of urban encroachment, climate change, or • Aboriginal tangible and intangible cultural values by other impacts. and other cultural heritage values in relation to the DAL The special character of DALs appeals to residents and visitors alike, and we must manage Victoria’s • a declared area framework plan that integrates growth while protecting and enhancing them. A social, environmental, economic and cultural sustainable approach to DALs and peri-urban areas heritage attributes; the plan may specify more generally recognises their unique attributes, settlement boundaries or designate settlement and it ensures development responds appropriately boundaries as protected settlement boundaries. to the things that attract people to them. Once the SPP is approved — after an extensive community and stakeholder engagement process Declaration of the Bass Coast — it will be incorporated into the Bass Coast The Bass Coast DAL was declared in October 2019. Planning Scheme through a planning scheme The declaration applies to the whole Bass Coast amendment and enforced through the Planning and Shire and extends 600 metres seaward of the Environment Act 1987. low-water mark. The declaration followed an assessment by the Department of Environment, Some changes to local planning controls and policies Land, Water and Planning (DELWP), with input may be needed to implement the SPP and ensure from Bass Coast Shire Council and the local the DAL’s highly valued attributes are protected community, to confirm the area meets the and enhanced. attributes necessary to be declared as a DAL under Section 46AP of the Act. 4 Bass Coast Distictive Areas and Landscapes Discussion Paper Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning Community engagement The Bass Coast Distinctive Areas and Landscape project has three community engagement phases: • phase 1 finished in August 2019 and informed the declaration of the Bass Coast DAL • phase 2 starts in March 2020 and will gather feedback about the content of this discussion paper and other relevant ideas people want to raise, to inform the draft SPP • phase 3 will occur in mid-2020, when the draft SPP will be released for public consultation, with opportunities for written submissions. Phase 1 engagement Phase 1 public engagement occurred from 10 July 2019 to 12 August 2019, and it included five open-house workshop sessions, an online survey, written and online submissions and ‘pop-ups’ at community events. People gave their feedback about what they most value about the Bass Coast, threats they perceive to those values, ways we can protect those values and their vision for the future of the Bass Coast. The Community Engagement Key Findings Report of phase 1 is available online. In all, 232 written and online submissions were received and 1,001 comments mapped. Phase 2 engagement This discussion paper is intended to promote community and stakeholder discussion about opportunities to protect and enhance the distinctive attributes of the Bass Coast DAL to inform the draft SPP. DELWP prepared the paper in consultation with Bass Coast Shire Council and Traditional Owners the Bunurong, and it has been informed by the findings of the phase 1 engagement activities. It provides an overview of the policy domains and the draft vision to be included in the draft SPP. We would like to hear your views about the ideas and issues in this paper and any other ideas you have about protecting and enhancing the Bass Coast DAL’s environment, landscapes and lifestyle. We seek feedback about: • the draft 50-year vision • the proposed precinct-based approach for the SPP • issues and strategic directions in each policy domain • any other ideas you have about protecting and enhancing the DAL’s values. Bass Coast Distictive Areas and Landscapes Discussion Paper 5 Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning Bass Coast precincts To ensure the SPP effectively addresses threats to the DAL’s social, cultural, environmental and Have your say economic values, the discussion paper proposes the area be considered as five precincts. What makes your precinct unique? This will acknowledge that the characters of What are the biggest