More twists for booming suburbs
THE boundaries and future growth of Torquay continue to be burning issues as the race for the seat of South Barwon intensifies ahead of the Victorian election on November 24.
Both major parties are at pains to portray themselves as sensible on development and as listening to the groundswell of local resistance to further population booms without accompanying infrastructure.
The decade-old plans to develop Spring Creek has become a focal point in these debates with developers hoping to start construction of the 2000 planned homes in the new year.
We recently brought you the story that Labor candidate Darren Cheeseman has said he wants to see the development scrapped and the town boundary pulled back 1km to Duffields Rd.
As we reported, this goes further even than his own party’s official policy, which is to review the boundary and then decide.
Mr Cheeseman’s comments also led to developers saying they would consider legal action if their approvals were pulled.
Now, as we report today, there is a new twist that reveals just how wide the gap is between the State Government’s actual position and what their candidate says it is.
Planning Minister Richard Wynne has ordered the Surf Coast Shire to resubmit a structure plan for the area, with orders that it include greater housing densities. So which is it? Greater housing densities or rolling back development?
Now that we are in the pointy end of a race to an election there are a lot of Latter-day Saints in this space painting themselves as antidevelopment pro-amenity crusaders.
Locals will now wonder whether the ALP can be trusted to make their words and actions consistent on these issues after the election.
But they will also remember it was Liberal Matthew Guy as planning minister who issued the planning approval.