VICTORIA 1979 TOWN & COUNTRY PLANNING BOARD THIRTY-FOURTH ANNUAL REPORT FINANCIAL YEAR 1978-79 PRESENTED TO BOTH HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT PURSUANT TO SECTION 5(2) OF THE TOWN AND COUNTRY PLANNING ACT 1961 By Authority: F D ATKINSON, GOVERNMENT PRINTER, MELBOURNE No. ~.., 1980 Thirty-Fourth Annual Report 150 Queen Street Melbourne, 3000 The Honourable the Minister for 500 Collins Street MELBOURNE VIC 3000 Sir, In accordance with the provisions of Section 5(2) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1961, the Board has pleasure in submitting to you for presentation to Parliament the following report on its activities during the twelve months ended 30th June, 1979. Yours faithfully Chairman, J J Bayly Deputy Chairman, M W Milburn Member, J R Baghel Member, P S Colclough Secretary, H R Trotter TOWN AND COUNTRY PLANNING BOARD MEMBBRS AND PRINCIPAL OFFICERS AS AT 30TH JUNE, 1979. MEMBERS J. J. BAYLY Chairman M. w. MILBURN Deputy Chairman J. R. BAGHEL (Mrs) Member P. s. COLCLOUGH Member PRINCIPAL OFFICERS Secretary W. H. CRAIG Director of Planning (Statutory) P. J. BROWN Director of Planning (Strategic) V. R. C. WARREN TOWN AND COUNTRY PLANNING BOARD HEAD OFFICE Melbourne: 150 Queen Street, Melbourne, 3000 Tel: (03} 6020111 REGIONAL OFFICES Bendigo: 391 Hargreaves Street, Bendigo, 3550 Tel: (054} 421511 Central Gippsland: 71 Hotham Street, Traralgon, 3844 Tel: (051} 745223 Warrnarnbool: T & G Building, Liebig Street, Warrnambool, 3280. Tel: (055} 624532 Wodonga: Astra House, Jack Hore Place, Wodonga, 3690. Tel: (060} 244688 CONTENTS Foreword strategic Planning 1 Statements of Planning Policy 2 Other Studies 11 Regional Planning 19 Melton-Sunbury Growth Centre 31 Local Planning 35 Planning Control Administered by the Board 35 Planning Schemes Approved 44 Interim Development Orders 44 Statutory Review of Planning Schemes 45 Melbourne Metropolitan Planning Area 45 western Port Planning Area 47 Geelong Planning Area 49 Urban Renewal 51 Legislation 55 Committees 59 Promotion of Planning 61 Board Members and Staff 69 Appendices 73 FOREWORD It has been customary recently for the Board's Annual Report to be introduced by a summary entitled "The Year in Review". This year, however, the statutory duty of reporting upon what has been done is confined to the body of the report, where we hope readers will find satisfactory evidence that members and staff have been active in sustaining and improving the usefulness of planning standards and procedures to State and local government, in pursuit of their many objectives related to the development and use of land. In February, 1979, the Second Report of the Building and Development Approvals Committee was published, with many recommendations for improvement of arrangements for the consideration, determination and review of applications for planning permits in Victoria. It was not surprising that the Committee's findings expressed dissatisfaction with some aspects of a system that has been developed in response to rapid growth and change. Indeed, in the slower economic tempo of the last few years, it has been all too easy to perceive the whole planning system as just another cause of frustration. The Board regards these problems as real and important, but capable of solution by improving the practice of planning rather than by setting worthwhile objectives aside. The Board is proud of a large measure of success in promoting sound planning practice throughout Victoria. In visits to many non-metropolitan urban and rural centres as well as in the Melbourne area, it has been gratifying for members to see at first hand how the assistance of Board officers has come to be relied upon as a welcome source of practical advice about the management of local problems and opportunities. In different ways the Board has also been closely involved with regional authorities and committees in their efforts to reconcile local needs with State policies and the particular requirements for development and conservation of regional resources. Regional meetings of various kinds with municipal councils, local interest groups and State government agencies, have generated many of the positive initiatives described in this report in which planning is seen as a facilitative function of government rather than as an unwelcome constraint. Regional planning arrangements will always require sensitive management, as the issues with which they are concerned generally involve both the responsibility of the State and the traditional autonomy of local government. Effective processes of consultation are critical to success. Despite the general flavour of satisfaction in its work, members and staff of the Board acknowledge that there is a need for more rapid improvement. Local controls must be more readily understandable, regional objectives must be clearer, state-level organization must be less cumbersome and ambiguous; the Board welcomes the attention that BADAC II has drawn to these needs and looks forward to co-operation from all concerned in its continuing efforts to bring about further improvements. Some of the necessary reforms are beyond the Board's control, although they will affect its work profoundly. These include the re-writing of the Town and Country Planning Act, the review of the Appeals Tribunal system, and the re-structuring of the state-level planning organizations, to all of which the Government has announced a firm commitment in accepting the thrust of the BADAC II recommendations. The Board notes especially the recommendation to the effect that most of its present functions should be combined with those of the Ministry for Planning in a single new organization. There can be no argument against this, although there is plenty of room for useful discussion as to the structure and functions of the new organization. Some of the present "grey areas" where there is no adequate distinction between the roles of the Board and the Ministry have become intolerably counter-productive in the eyes of both those who seek to serve within the two organizations and those who seek service from us. The Board does not therefore resist radical change, if the Government should decide that a clean sweep is the most effective approach to improvement. But it is a central lesson of experience in any kind of planning that all major change should be approached with caution as well as with purpose, and the Board has noted the following criteria among those it regards as most important for improvement in Victoria's planning system. 1. Change should not be designed only to meet the needs of a system of control. Provision must be made for a continuation of the shift from authoritarian detailed controls to authoritative and helpful advice {an aspect of things beyond the BADAC terms of reference). 2. Change must be recognised as a continuing necessity and the next phase should therefore not be tied to inflexible administrative structures or tightly prescribed individual roles. The Board's best performances in responding to greatly increased demands with modest increases in resources {or none at all) have been achieved through the willingness of its staff to develop new groupings and procedures both among themselves and involving members of other organizations. 3. The demand that the cost of controls should be monitored and constrained is both popular and reasonable, but planning is largely justified by avoidance of the probable future cost of failure to plan. It will be essential to provide for the monitoring of trends that could prove costly without planning intervention. The Board has noted with considerable interest the BADAC recommendation that an independent advisory body should have a place in the new arrangements. Successive Ministers have expressed their appreciation of the Board's independence and the consequential special quality of its advice. Until recently, of course, the measure of independence reflected in the Board's constitution was expressed in its role as the only statutory channel of advice available to the Minister. Whether such independence could be sustained in a departmental structure, or be effectively exercised by a relatively minor peripheral organization, is a question deserving careful scrutiny. Finally, members and staff of the Town and Country Planning Board recognize the promotion of planning throughout the State as their primary statutory duty, and look forward to participation in the next phase of development in the system which has been given most of its form and statutory effect by their predecessors and themselves since 1945. J, J. BAYLY CHAIRMAN • 1 • STRATEGIC PLANNING The strategic planning functions of the Board encompass both regional and policy planning, which are becoming increasingly interwoven. Welding a strong connection between the State, regional and municipal levels of planning has continued to be an essential aim of the strategic programmes and has been particularly reflected in the degree of consultation and direct involvement in individual projects. There has been continued emphasis on using strategic planning to provide regional authorities and municipalities with practical support in dealing with problems such as rural subdivision and landscape protection. Progress in each of the strategic activities has also contributed to the gradual development of a State-wide approach to planning. The Board has frequently referred to the need for a State planning strategy and so it welcomed the announcement in March, 1979 by the then Minister for Planning, the Hon A J Hunt, MLC that the Government intended to prepare a statement of planning policy for the whole State. It is important that such a policy be seen as providing a framework for future policies and for setting development priorities not as a master plan in itself. Even so, its preparation will be a lengthy process requiring a significant involvement of other government agencies particularly through the State Co-ordination Council. Design and launching of this project is expected to be a major part of the Board's programme during the next year. Substantial progress has been made in the Rural Land Mapping Programme and with the production of design and siting guidelines for various types of landscape.