1954-1955 VICTORIA --------- NINTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE TOWN AND COUNTRY PLANNING BOARD OF VICTORIA FOR THE PERIOD I ST JULY, I 953, TO 30TH JUNE, 1954. PRESE!>.'TED TO BOTH HOUSES 01<' PARLIAMENT PURSUANT TO SECTION 4 (3) ·OF THE TOWN AND COUNTRY PLANNING ACT 1944. ~-··------------- [Approximate Cost of Report-Preparation, not given. Printing (950 copies), £140.] 81 ~nth.ortt p: W. M. HOUITON, GOVERNMENT PIINTIR, MILBOURNI. No. 30.-[Is .9D.J.-259j55. INDEX PAGE The Act 1 Planning Schemes-General 11 Details of Planning Schemes in Course of Preparation 11 Latrobe Valley Sub-Regional Planning Scheme, Amendment No. 1, 1953 15 Shire of N arracan- Moe-Newborough Planning Scheme 16 Yallourn North Planning Scheme 17 Shire of Morwell- Morwell Planning Scheme 17 Yinnar and Boolarra 17 Shire of Turalgon- Traralgon Planning Scheme 17 Eildon Sub-Regional Planning Scheme 18 Club Terrace Planning Scheme (Shire of Orbost) 18 Ocean Road Planning Scheme 18 Geelong and District Joint Planning Committee 19 Portland and District Joint Planning Scheme 19 Proposed Ballarat and District Planning Scheme 19 Metropolitan Planning Scheme 20 City of Moorabbin Planning Scheme 1952 21 City of Camberwell Planning Scheme 21 City of Richmond Planning Scheme 22 Shire of Ferntree Gully Planning Scheme-Dandenong Ranges 22 Mornington Peninsula 22 City of Shepparton Planning Scheme 23 Shire of Benalla Planning Scheme 23 Land Use Zoning-By-laws under Local Government Act 24 Uniform Building Regulations 24 Registration of Factories 25 Housing Commission and Town Planning 25 Special Use Zones 25 Place Names 26 Visits by Board 27 Staff .. 27 Town and Country Planning Board. NINTH ANNUAL REPORT. State Offices Annexe, 107 Russell-street, Melbourne, C.l, 16th December, 1954. The Honourable the Commissioner of Public ·works, Treasury Place, Melbourne, C.2. SIR, 1. In accordance with the requirements of Section 4 (3) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1944 (No. 5043), the Board has pleasure in submitting to you for presentation to Parliament, the report on its decisions, recommendations, and other transactions during the twelve months ended 30th June, 1954. 2. The Board held 48 meetings as well as being represented at many conferences in both metropolitan and country centres. THE ACT. 3. During the May Sessions of Parliament, a Bill to amend the Town and Country Planning Acts was passed. This Bill contained most of the amendments recommended by the Board over a number of years, as well as certain other amendments required in connexion with the Metropolitan Planning Scheme. 4. 'l'he Act, No. 5778, became effective on 11th May, 1954. 5. The amendments contained in the Act are as follows:­ (1) Section 2.-Joint Planning Schemes.- This amendment adds two further sub-sections to Section 9 of the Principal Act (No. 5043) and provides for a joint planning committee to continue in existence for twelve months after the approval of the joint planning scheme, or for such further period or periods as determined by the councils concerned. During the existence of the joint committee no planning scheme, which would alter or affect the joint scheme, may be prepared unless by the joint committee or with the joint committee's sanction. Upon the termination of the existence of the committee, the councils concerned may form a further committee to advise generally in regard to the planning scheme. The object of this amendment is to enable the joint committee propounding the scheme to be retained to advise on any problems which the individual implementing councils may have in the early stages of the administration of the approved planning scheme. It is felt that this continued consultation after the approval of the scheme will go a long way towards ensuring mutual co-operation in the enforcement of its provisions. (2) Section 3.-Interim Development Orders. For Section 12 of Act No. 5043 a new section is substituted. The several changes which have been brought about by this amendment are mainly designed to assist the more practical operation of interim development orders in line "''ith the Board's recommendations over a number of years. The Act now provides that, after the date determined and notified as the commencement of the preparation of a planning scheme, and. before ita approval, the responsible authority 6 may, with the approval of the Governor in Council (given after consideration of a report by the Town and Country Planning Board), make an interim development order " regulating, restricting, restraining, or prohibiting the use or development of any land or the erection, construction or carrying out of any buildings or works on any land which may be included in such scheme ". The responsible authority may, during the operation of the order, permit, subject to such conditions as are specified in the permit, such use or development of any land, &c., " as the authority thinks proper". It is provided, however, that nothing in any interim development order shall prevent the continuance of the use of any land or buildings for the purposes for which such land or buildings were lawfully used immediately before the coming into operation of the order. By the inclusion of the word " regulating ", it is felt that the misconception that the operation of interim development orders has the effect of " freezing " all development, will be removed. The amendment also permits the use of land to be controlled, as well as its development. The practical application of such orders has always been to permit normal development to proceed as usual and to prevent only that which would nullify the planning proposals. This amendment, therefore, ensures that the continued administration of interim development orders will be in accordance with the practice so far followed in many parts of the State. Sub-section (2) of this section relates to the publication of the order in the Government Gazette and in two newspapers. To assist in reducing the cost of advertisements, where the order contains a lengthy technical description, it is now provided that a notice of the approval of the order, giving a summary of its contents in a form approved by the Minister, may be published in lieu of the complete order. The notice shall also state that copies of the order, and (where so required by the Minister) of a map showing the area affected, may be inspected at the office of the responsible authority and at the office of the Town and Country Planning Board. The interim development order comes into op.eration upon the date of publication of a copy of the order or the notice of approval thereof in the Government Gazette. The appeal provisions of the Principal Act have also been slightly amended, and it is now provided that any person who feels aggrieved by the refusal or failure within a period of two months of a, responsible authority to permit the use or development of any land, &c., or by the conditions specified in any permit, may appeal to the Minister, whose decision shall be final and shall be given effect to by the responsible authority. The appeal may be heard by some person or persons appointed by the Minister and the Minister shall give hia decision after considering the report of the person or persons who have heard the appeaL This amendment provides a further safeguard for any person making application for a permit under an interim development order as it now enables an appeal to be made to the Minister if there is any undue delay in obtaining a determination from the responsible authority. Sub-section (4) of Section 12, relating to the power of the Governor in Council to prohibit public works not in conformity with the scheme, replaces sub-section (6) of Section 12 of the Principal Act and remains unchanged. Sub-sections (5) and (6) of Section 12, empowering a responsible authority to remove any works, &c., commenced or continued in contravention of the provisions of an interim development order, replaces sub-sections (3) and (4) of Section 12 of the Principal Act and are virtually unchanged. 7 The object of the new sub-section (7) is to ensure that, where a responsible authority is preparing a planning scheme for, say, the whole of the municipality and portion of the scheme is submitted and approved in advance of the whole, the interim development order, which was approved for the whole of the municipality, shall only lapse in respect of that area for which a planning scheme has been approved. Sub-section (8) enabling the revocation of interim development orders by the Governor in Council, replaces sub-section (7) of Section 12 of the Principal Act and remains virtually unaltered. (3) Section 4.--Deposition of Copies of Proposed Scheme for Public Inspection. This amendment, which replaces paragraph (a) of sub-section (2) of Section 13 of the Principal Act, retains the provision that, for purposes of public inspection copieB of a propoBed planning scheme shall be deposited at the office of the responsible authority and at the office of the Board. However, where the responsible authority is not the council of a municipality, it is now provided that copies of only so much of the scheme as relates to land in a particular municipality shall be deposited at the office of that municipality for inRpection. In the case of a joint planning committee, this would mean that copies of the whole of the planning scheme need not be deposited at the office of each constituent council, but only that portion relating to the particular municipality concerned. In the case of the Metropolitan Planning Scheme also, this amendment will overcome the necessity for copies of the whole scheme to be deposited at the office of each of the municipalities within the metropolitan planning area.