The meeting focused on the issues associated with development encroaching on landfills and contaminated sites.  In particular, there was plenty of discussion regarding landfill gas and the impacts of the ‘Best Practice Environmental Management on the Siting, Design, Operation and Rehabilitation of Landfills’ (BEPM). The BEPM can require buffer distances of 500 metres and 200 metres from any building or structure for putrescible and solid inert waste respectively.  The implications of these requirements are significant.

A curious insight was provided by Michael Rehfisch when he noted that landfill gas (principally methane and carbon dioxide) appears to increase in concentration when associated with a significant drop in atmospheric pressure.  He noted that any testing for landfill gas should occur during a period of such atmospheric change in order to optimize the chance of detecting landfill gas.

The seminar ranged through a variety of technical and planning related issues and generated more questions than it answered.  The uncertainty and complexity of the current system was acknowledged by all.  We look forward to the Minister for Planning’s response to the recommendations of the Potentially Contaminated Land Advisory Committee.

A recent media release from the Minister for Planning, Mr Mathew Guy, was titled “Government declares war on planning red tape“.  The media release accompanied the Victorian Planning System Ministerial Advisory Committee initial report (11 May 2012) along with the Government’s initial response to this report.

The Minister for Planning established the Advisory Committee, chaired by Mr Geoff Underwood, in mid 2011 to review the planning system in Victoria.  The report (commonly referred to as ‘the Underwood Report’) and the Government’s initial response can be found via the following links.

• Victorian Planning System Ministerial Advisory Committee, Initial Report (PDF – 2.4 MB)
• State Government response to the key findings of the initial report (PDF – 429 KB)

Some of the key recommendations of the initial report or items identified as needing further work include:

• continuing to develop a new metropolitan planning strategy and regional growth plans;
• clearly defining the roles and responsibilities and leadership of the Minister and DPCD;
• taking action to reduce the backlog of cases and waiting time at VCAT;
• considering changes to the role and operation of Planning Panels Victoria;
• re-examining the Municipal Strategic Statement, its role, its function and its place within the planning scheme;
• reviewing the adequacy of the current schedule of application fees;
• reviewing all stages in the amendment process to help reduce costs for all parties;
• giving further consideration to the practice of securing infrastructure funding via permit conditions;
• streamlining the processes associated with creating, amending and removing Section 173 agreements;
• developing a new code assessment process for straight forward, low impact permit applications;
• reviewing the permit and amendment processes to make them more efficient;
• giving further consideration to the structure of zones, including the possibility of allowing local variations;
• reviewing the operation of aspects of planning schemes, such as how local policy and planning overlays work;
• improving how the development contribution system works.

We will be very interested to see what planning system ‘reforms’ are instigated as a result of the Underwood report and particularly whether they will lead to a real reduction in planning red tape.

A NEW MELBOURNE METROPOLITAN PLANNING STRATEGY

The Victorian Government has also recently announced that they will be preparing a new Metropolitan Planning Strategy over the next two years.  The Strategy is to provide a vision for Victoria over the next 30 to 40 years, along with the Regional Growth Plans.

For more information visit www.planmelbourne.vic.gov.au

WHAT WILL THE STRATEGY CONSIDER? 

The aim of the strategy is to ensure the valued aspects of Melbourne are protected while allowing for future needs including:

• housing choice;
• transport accessibility;
• economic growth;
• environmental protection;
• infrastructure and services to support growth.

CONSULTATION

The strategy will be informed by stakeholder and community input and feedback together with research and evaluation.

Preliminary consultation will begin with metropolitan councils and major planning stakeholders and will eventually include regional councils, certain community groups and the general public.

There are also a number of ‘forums’ on the website where views can be expressed about various aspects to be addressed by the Strategy.

The Strategy is at an early stage in its expected timeline and the results of the forthcoming consultation will be input into a discussion paper that will then lead to preparation of a draft strategy, which it is anticipated will released for public comment before finalisation and implementation.

The following timeline indicates where in the process we sit at the moment.

STRATEGIC PLANNING HISTORY – WORTH A LOOK

The Strategy web page provides a link to historic strategic planning documents that have guided development in Victoria since the 1920s.  We encourage you to have a look through this interesting planning history of Victoria – these documents shed some light on various features of Melbourne.

FURTHER INFORMATION

For more information on the Underwood Report or the Metropolitan Strategy and how it could affect you, please contact

• Michael Collie                mjsc@colliepl.com.au
• John Roney                    jdr@colliepl.com.au
• Fiona Munn                    flm@colliepl.com.au
• Jay Hollerich                  jjh@colliepl.com.au
• Aran Barker                    awb@colliepl.com.au
• Neil Badger                    njb@colliepl.com.au

The amendment will enable a ‘full-line’ supermarket to be developed on the site (in addition to supporting specialty shops) thereby benefiting the community by providing additional jobs, improving shopping opportunities, reducing the need to travel (to more distant shopping destinations) and by adding to the general vitality of the area.

Indicative images of the future neighbourhood hub are provided below.

Coburg Hill is the site of the former Kodak Australasia factory and headquarters in Coburg North.  Collie was involved in the initial rezoning of the land and is now working closely with the owner, Satterley Property Group, to subdivide and develop the 20 hectares site.

Enquiries to Aran Barker (awb@colliepl.com.au)

This planning permit follows a previous approval within the Taylors Hill West PSP for a 170-subdivision further west along Taylors Road, that was issued late in 2011.

Collie was pleased to be able to provide town planning services in relation to both of these subdivisions.

You will not be surprised to know that the Olympic (by retrofitting) and the Britannic (before launch) were the subject of design changes from their sister ship the Titanic.

P.S. As a final irony, one Violet Jessop lived from 1887 to 1971 and could claim that she had been on board and survived the sinking of both Titanic and Britannic and had also worked on Olympic.

The approved works when completed will provide additional training rooms, offices, a new waiting area and will increase the size of the existing meeting and seminar room on the first floor of the building.  The provision of this additional floor space (all at first floor level) will ultimately benefit the surrounding community as it will enable general training to take place for work experience students, regular training for staff of the medical centre, in-house meetings and holding of lifestyle group sessions for particular patient groups with high risk of health problems.  New business identification signage will also be incorporated into the building facade.

Collie worked closely with the client, architect and representatives from the Glen Eira City Council town planning department to facilitate preparation of an appropriate design which responds to the existing building, the neighbourhood character and the amenity of adjacent residents.

Collie previously provided planning services to Eastbound Medical Centre to obtain a planning permit for the redevelopment of the medical centre that now exists on the site.

Enquiries Jay Hollerich (jjh@colliepl.com.au)

The approved subdivision layout (see below) provides the main east-west connection through the precinct via ‘Westmeadows Lane’ which will have a signalized junction where it meets Palmers Road to the east.  In addition, significant road and pedestrian links to the north, south and west of the Precinct also form part of Highgrange.

Highgrange provides typical north / south and east / west orientated lots serviced by Westmeadows Lane and its tributary roads.

Public open space is provided to the west of the subdivision where it meets with adjacent open space to create a one hectare public park.

The approved subdivision creates 17.4 lots per net developable hectare across the subject site with an average lot size of 380 square metres.

The third successful permit follows previous approvals for a 214-lot subdivision and a 36-dwelling’ display village on land known as ‘Gateway’ in the south east of the precinct, adjacent to the Sayers Road and Palmers Road junction.

The approvals together represent the completion of several years of work by many parties and including detailed negotiations with Wyndham City Council, the Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE), the Growth Areas Authority (GAA), Vic Roads and other key service authorities, following the approval of the Truganina South Community Precinct Structure Plan.

Collie was pleased to be able to assist Central Equity by providing town planning, urban design and landscape architecture services, from the outset.

Enquires Neil Badger (njb@colliepl.com.au)

The signature building was designed by a team of international designers including Eric Kuhn and Associates as well as a local Irish firm Todd Architects and was developed by Dublin based company, Harcourt Construction.

The architectural design of the building incorporates iconic elements representing the Titanic bow, ice crystals and White Star Line insignia.  It has been constructed next to the slipway where the Titanic was born in 1911.

The landmark tourism project comprises nine ‘high tech’ interactive galleries celebrating the world’s most famous ship and the illustrious maritime and industrial heritage of Belfast.

Titanic Belfast will include “a ‘Titanic Experience’ exhibition, a ‘Flying Theatre’ which allows visitors a birds eye view across Northern Ireland, a Titanic-themed banqueting suite and a community arts facility for local exhibitions, performances and conferences“.  Recreations of cabins with hologram projections of passengers, a recreation of the Harland and Wolff shipyard, a replica grand staircase in the banqueting suite as well as projections showing images of the wreck of the Titanic will all be on show within the new building.

Titanic Belfast is part of the redevelopment of the 75 hectares Titanic Quarter in east Belfast.  This redevelopment is one of Europe’s largest regeneration projects transforming the site into a “new mixed use maritime quarter with a mile of water frontage and a range of investment opportunities”. The redevelopment site is on former shipbuilding land from where the Titanic and sister ship Olympic were built and launched.

As outlined in the Titanic Quarter Development Strategy, the redevelopment when completed will include:

• up to 5000 dwellings including apartments and townhouses;
• a high quality business quarter with a total floor space of 180,000 square metres;
• commercial development of 130,000 square metres;
• the Titanic Signature project;
• a major third level education campus;
• the restoration of the former Harland and Wolff head-quarters;
• the creation of a ‘Gateway’ hotel at the entrance to Titanic Quarter;
• leisure developments including restaurants, café / bars and health and fitness clubs up to 41,000 square metres;
• other commercial uses including a high quality car retail park;
• the provision of a cruise liner berth and ancillary facilities for tourism;
• local services and business support including local retail, health care, crèches and day nurseries.

Titanic Quarter Master Plan was developed in 2005 and creates a “blueprint for the development of Titanic Quarter into a world-class waterfront location”.  The Master Plan divides the redevelopment of the Titanic Quarter into five Phases.

Phase 1

Phase 1 will include:

• 93,000 square metres of mixed-use development adjacent to the Odyssey Arena and Pavilion;
• The Gateway Office development at the entrance to Titanic Quarter;
• the ‘Arc’ residential complex containing a mix of one, two and three-bedroom apartments;
• a new third level education campus for Belfast Institute of Further and Higher Education.

Phase 2

Phase 2 will include:

• 307,000 square metres of mixed-use development offering residential, commercial, retail and leisure facilities;
• the development of the Titanic Signature Project (Titanic Belfast) and the restoration of the former Harland and Wolff headquarters building;
• the restoration of the RMS Titanic and RMS Olympic slipways.

Phases 3 to 5

Phases 3 to 5 are at the conceptual design stage.

Works within the Titanic Quarter completed to date include the Titanic Belfast signature building which was opened at the end of March 2011, the Belfast Metropolitan Quarter Campus opened in 2011, the Premier Inn Hotel opened in 2010, the Gateway Office opened in 2009 and at the end of last year there were 300 residents living in the Arc residential development.

The Titanic Quarter Arc residential development has been named at the national Property Awards in London as one of the top five developments in the United Kingdom while the regeneration and development of the Titanic Quarter has received an award for Best Regeneration Project at the Belfast Business Awards ceremony.

Enquiries Laura O’Higgins (lao@colliepl.com.au)

100 years ago, the Titanic was the largest ship in the world at: 882 feet 9 inches in length, 92 feet in width and it weighed 46,328 tonnes.  Today the largest ships in the world are the Allure of The Seas and Oasis of the Seas (both operated by Royal Caribbean International).  These ships are, 1,187 feet in length, 213 feet in width and weigh 225,282 tonnes.

Look at this example in Swan Street, Richmond near Stawell Street.  Note the location in relation to the footpath; note the ‘alternative’ footpath in the dirt?

Why not a shelter overhanging the footpath but not blocking it off?