Nine submissions received by Campaspe Shire Council relating to the Echuca West Precinct Structure Plan have been withdrawn and will allow the project to avoid any lengthy delay.
The December meeting of council will hear the details of a report prepared after the submission process had been completed and the successful amendment of council’s paperwork to move the project to the next stage.
Council received the nine submissions relating to the planning and environment aspect of the development, but following meetings with the concerned parties the project was given the green light to continue without any independent planning panel involvement.
Submissions related specifically to the Environment Audit Overlay and the removal of the Native Vegetation Precinct Plan.
The NVPP will be replaced by a Environmental Significance Overlay, which makes it clear to all landowners and developers what is required going forward to protect the ecological values of the precinct.
The amendments to these areas of the report related to tree removal and the fact a 2017 report was not considered to have accurately reflected the current health of flora within the area.
The amendments which were accepted by the submission writers ask for the removal of vegetation to be justified on an individual basis through future planning applications.
In addition to contacting those that had made a submission, Campaspe Shire officers informed any affected landowner about the changes in relation to the EAO and NVPP, which was a request as part of submissions received from referral authorities.
Campaspe Shire officers consulted with the Victorian Planning Authority about the changes and outlined that the alterations had been agreed to with the relevant referral authorities.
The submissions which were made as a result of the exhibition process could have required the council to request an independent panel to determine submissions and make recommendations.
Due to the urgent need for residential land in Echuca, planning officers were able to resolve submissions, rather than undertake a lengthy and costly planning panel process.
After a review of the submissions all concerns were resolved with no, or minor, changes to the amendment documentation.
The one minor change agreed was to include an annotation on a map within the Development Contributions Plan.
It read that any works occurring within a road zone which are not captured by the DCP are not the direct responsibility of the developer.
The other minor changes that were the result of submissions related to referral authorities, but have no impact on the overall amendment.