26 March 2013 - Nillumbik Shire Council

OCM.029/13 Submission to Metropolitan Planning Strategy 2012 Discussion PaperAttachment 1 A primary reason for Melbourne being considered a highly desirable city to live in is itsclose proximity to state and national parks and the existence of its green wedges. Theseenvironmental assets must be given the same consideration and level of importance asothers. The Discussion Paper has a strong economic focus and little discussion isoffered on biodiversity, native vegetation and natural systems.The economic focus extends to the idea that nature has to pay for its protection. This isinferred by the Discussion Paper where green wedges have ‘opportunities to increasetheir value for the city’. They appear not to be seen as intrinsically valuable for theirenvironmental, health and liveability qualities but rather their worth must be calculableand they must be managed to produce the highest possible economic benefits.Creating a green edge to the city It is unclear from the Discussion Paper what the specific aims and plans for Melbourne’sGreen Wedges are. For example, Council questions what a ‘holistic approach tomanaging the green edge…as a cohesive unit’ actually means when it has beenrecognised that Melbourne’s Green Wedges are not a ‘holistic’ unit but have somesignificant differences between them. Nillumbik’s Green Wedge is clearly identified forits environmental values.While holistic management of all Green Wedges as a ‘cohesive unit’ may not be apossibility owing to their differences, there are similarities in characteristics betweengroups of Green Wedges and there may be opportunities to consider combining newmanagement arrangements for these Green Wedges.The Paper appears to advocate for a relaxation of the controls in Green Wedge areaswhile at the same time ‘locking in’ the UGB. Council strongly supports locking in theUGB but this should not be linked to the de-regulation of areas outside it.Council welcomes tourism development in line with Council’s Green WedgeManagement Plan (GWMP) and Economic Development Strategy and changes to theregulations to allow some additional uses are actively supported. For example, Council isstrongly advocating for development of the Maroondah Aqueduct Trail which has thepotential to be an iconic walking and cycling trail for Victoria, just like the Warburton RailTrail and Murray to the Mountains Rail Trail. The iconic Maroondah Aqueduct wouldboost tourism with cafes and visitor accommodation, bike hire etc. and changes to theplanning scheme are needed to help accommodate this provided that new developmentis consistent with the values of the Green Wedge. This is consistent with Council’ssubmissions to both the Victorian Competition and Efficiency Commission (VCEC)37