North and west best for expanding Geelong
GEELONG’S future expansion will be largely directed to the city’s north and west, after the council adopted a 20-year settlement strategy.
More than 100,000 new residents will call the northern and western growth areas home, allowing for a reduction in the reliance on the Bellarine Peninsula.
Windermere Ward councillor Anthony Aitken welcomed the strategy, noting it shifted development focus to the city’s north and west for the first time since the 1970s.
However several Bellarine Peninsula residents told a council meeting in Leopold that the strategy for distinctive regions was not entirely clear.
Their concerns centred around the strategy now including “indicative” settlement boundaries, which have been left open for further analysis.
“There is no degree of certainty about it,” Bike Safe Gee- long president Garry Laver said.
But local councillor Stephanie Asher sought to allay any fears about the continued rapid expansion of the Bellarine Peninsula’s population.
“There is nothing other than the protection of the Bellarine on the agenda,” she said.
The strategy notes the planned zones are “indicative” because of the potential for minor changes to be made to the boundaries through work with the State Government.
“Over time this will see the extent of urban development contained by permanent boundaries and the protection of landscapes and non-urban breaks strengthened,” the report reads.
Just which side of politics the council will be working with will be determined at next month’s state election. Both major parties recently made commitments to guard against over-development on the Bellarine peninsula.
The Coalition has vowed to introduce strict new rules within 100 days of gaining office, while Labor would develop permanent height controls and town boundaries within a year.
Bellarine Community Council chairman Alan Swanwick said the looming reforms — which would outline plans for up to the next 50 years — would be highly influential. “The next 12 months will determine whether the Bellarine actually survives as a distinctive area of importance,” he said.
Land supply stocks reveal the main areas of unzoned land were in the western (18,000 lots) and northern (16,000) growth areas.
There were almost 12,500 lots, including broad hectare land, available on the Bellarine Peninsula centred around Ocean Grove, Drysdale, Clifton Springs and Leopold.
However it is expected only infill opportunities will be available on the Bellarine after the introduction of new town boundaries.