Planning Policy Framework

• Clause 11.01-1S - Settlement includes a strategy to focus investment and growth in places of state significance in Metropolitan Melbourne and the major regional cities.
• Clause 11.01-1R - Settlement - Geelong G21 (Greater Geelong) seeks to Maintain a significant settlement break between the region and Melbourne.
• Clause 11.01-R - Green Wedges Metropolitan Melbourne (Wyndham) seeks to protect the green wedges of Metropolitan Melbourne from inappropriate development. Further relevant strategies include:
  • Promote and encourage the key features and related values of each green wedge area. Support development in the green wedge that provides for environmental economic and social benefits.
  • Plan and protect major state infrastructure and resource assets such as airports and ports with their associated access corridors water supply dams water catchments and waste management and recycling facilities.
  • Support existing and potential agribusiness activities forestry food production and tourism.
  • Protect areas of environmental landscape and scenic value such as biodiversity assets national and state parks Ramsar wetlands and coastal areas.
  • Protect significant resources of stone sand and other mineral resources for extraction purposes.
  • Provide opportunities for renewable energy generation.
• Clause 11.01-1R Settlement - Metropolitan Melbourne (Wyndham) seeks to maintain a permanent UGB around Melbourne to create a more consolidated sustainable city and protect the values of non-urban land.
• Clause 11.03-3R Peri-urban areas (Greater Geelong) includes a number of relevant strategies:
  • Identify and protect areas that are strategically important for the environment biodiversity landscape open space water agriculture energy recreation tourism environment cultural heritage infrastructure extractive and other natural resources.
  • Prevent dispersed settlement and provide for non-urban breaks between urban areas.
  • Improve connections to regional and metropolitan transport services.
• Clause 12 - Environmental and landscape values outlines that:
  • Planning should help to protect the health of ecological systems and the biodiversity they support (including ecosystems habitats species and genetic diversity) and conserve areas with identified environmental and landscape values.
  • Planning should protect restore and enhance sites and features of nature conservation biodiversity geological or landscape value.
• Clause 12.01-1S – Protection of biodiversity seeks the protection and conservation of Victoria’s biodiversity including important habitat for flora and fauna and strategically valuable biodiversity sites.
• Clause 12.01-2S Native vegetation management seeks to ensure that there is no net loss to biodiversity as a result of the removal destruction or lopping of native vegetation.
• Clause 12.02-1S - Protection of the marine and coastal environment seeks to recognise the value of coastal areas to the community conserve and enhance coastal areas and ensure sustainable use of natural coastal resources in addition to enhancing ecological values; avoiding cumulative impacts on ecosystems; and avoiding disturbing acid sulphate soils etc.
• Clause 12.03-1S River corridors waterways lakes and wetlands seeks to protect and enhance river corridors waterways lakes and wetlands.
• Clause 12.05-1S Environmentally sensitive areas seeks to protect and conserve environmentally sensitive areas.
• Clause 13 Environmental Risks and Amenity outlines that:
  • Planning should strengthen the resilience and safety of communities by adopting a best practice environmental management and risk management approach.
  • Planning should identify prevent and minimise the risk of harm to the environment human health and amenity through: Land use and development compatibility and Effective controls to prevent or mitigate significant impacts.
  • Planning should identify and manage the potential for the environment and environmental changes to impact on the economic environmental or social wellbeing of society.
  • Planning should ensure development and risk mitigation does not detrimentally interfere with important natural processes.
  • Planning should prepare for and respond to the impacts of climate change.
• Clause 13.01-1S Natural hazards and climate change seeks to minimise the impacts of natural hazards and adapt to the impacts of climate change through risk-based planning.
• Clause 13.01-2S Coastal inundation and erosion seeks to plan for and manage the potential coastal impacts of climate change and includes specific strategies to:
  • Plan for sea level rise of not less than 0.8 metres by 2100 and allow for the combined effects of tides storm surges coastal processes and local conditions such as topography and geology when assessing risks and coastal impacts associated with climate change.
  • Ensure that land subject to hazards is identified and appropriately managed to ensure that future use and development is not at risk.
  • Avoid use and development in areas vulnerable to coastal inundation and erosion.
  • Respond to marine and coastal processes in the context of the coastal compartment type.
  • Assess the effectiveness costs benefits impacts (direct cumulative and synergistic) and path dependency of available adaptation options in the following order:
    1. non-intervention;
    2. avoid;
    3. nature-base methods;
    4. accommodate;
    5. retreat; and
    6. protect
  • Ensure that development or protective works that seek to respond to coastal hazard risks avoid detrimental impacts on coastal processes.
• Clause 13.03 Floodplains seeks to assist the protection of:
  • Life property and community infrastructure from flood hazard including coastal inundation riverine and overland flows.
  • The natural flood carrying capacity of rivers streams and floodways.
  • The flood storage function of floodplains and waterways.
  • Floodplain areas of environmental significance or of importance to river wetland or coastal health.
• Clause 13.07-1S Land use compatibility seeks to protect community amenity and human health and safety while facilitating appropriate commercial industrial infrastructure or other uses with potential adverse off-site impacts.
• Clause 14 Natural Resource Management outlines that:
  • Planning is to assist in the conservation and wise use of natural resources including energy water land stone and minerals to support both environmental quality and sustainable development.
  • Planning should ensure agricultural land is managed sustainably while acknowledging the economic importance of agricultural production.
• Clause 14.01-1S Protection of agricultural land seeks to protect the state’s agricultural activities by preserving productive farmland.
• Clause 14.01-2R Agricultural productivity - Geelong G21 (Greater Geelong) seeks to support new opportunities in farming and fisheries.
• Clause 14.01-1R Protection of agricultural land - Metropolitan Melbourne (Wyndham) seeks to protect agricultural land in Metropolitan Melbourne’s green wedges and periurban areas to avoid the permanent loss of agricultural land in those locations.
• Clause 14.02-1S Catchment planning and management seeks to assist the protection and restoration of catchments water bodies groundwater and the marine environment.
• Clause 14.02-2S Water quality seeks to protect water quality including water catchments and natural environs.
• Clause 14.03-1S Resource exploration and extraction seeks to encourage exploration and extraction of natural resources in accordance with acceptable environmental standards. Clause 15.03-1S Heritage conservation seeks to ensure the conservation of places of heritage significance.
• Clause 17 Economic Development outlines that:
  • Planning is to provide for a strong and innovative economy where all sectors are critical to economic prosperity.
  • Planning is to contribute to the economic wellbeing of the state and foster economic growth by providing land facilitating decisions and resolving land use conflicts so that each region may build on its strengths and achieve its economic potential.
• Clause 17.01-1S Diversified economy seeks to strengthen and diversify the economy.
• Clause 17.01-1R Diversified economy - Geelong G21 (Greater Geelong) contains the following strategies:
  • Build on the region’s competitive strengths including tourism and agricultural land resources and economic social and natural assets.
  • Support new businesses that provide employment and innovation opportunities in identified employment nodes across the region.
  • Support industries that utilise skills within the region.
• Clause 17.03-1S Industrial land supply seeks to ensure there is an adequate supply and availability of land for industry.
• Clause 18 Transport outlines that planning should ensure a safe integrated and sustainable transport system that:
  • provides access to social and economic opportunities to support individual and community wellbeing;
  • facilitates economic prosperity; actively contributes to environmental sustainability;
  • Facilitates network-wide efficient coordinated and reliable movements of people and goods;and
  • supports health and wellbeing.
• Clause 18.01-1S Land use and transport planning seeks to facilitate access to social cultural and economic opportunities by effectively integrating land use and transport.
• Clause 18.01-2S Transport system seeks to facilitate the efficient coordinated and reliable movement of people and goods by developing an integrated and efficient transport system.
• Clause 18.01-2R Transport system - Geelong G21 (Greater Geelong) seeks to support improved transit and access within Geelong and the wider region and support a greater connection to the Werribee growth corridor and Melbourne.
• Clause 18.02-1S Cycling seeks to facilitate an efficient and safe bicycle network and increase the proportion of trips made by cycling.
• Clause 18.02-2R Cycling - Metropolitan Melbourne (Wyndham) seeks to develop local cycling networks and new cycling facilities that support the development of 20-minute neighbourhoods and that link to and complement the metropolitan-wide network of bicycle routes - the Principal Bicycle Network.
• Clause 18.02-3S Public Transport seeks to facilitate an efficient and safe public transport network and increase the proportion of trips made by public transport.
• 18.02-3R Principal Public Transport Network (Wyndham) seeks to facilitate high quality public transport access and improve the Principal Public Transport Network.
• Clause 18.02-4S Roads seeks to facilitate an efficient and safe road network that integrates all movement networks and makes best use of existing infrastructure.
• Clause 18.02-5S Freight seeks to facilitate an efficient coordinated safe and sustainable freight and logistics system that enhances Victoria’s economic prosperity and liveability. Further relevant strategies include:
  • Support the movement of freight within Victoria’s freight and logistics system.
  • Improve freight efficiency and capacity.
  • Manage negative impacts of freight generating activities on urban amenity the development of urban areas and on the efficient operation of movement networks.
  • Prioritise new technologies that enhance road and rail safety optimise the metropolitan road network better manage congestion and reduce supply chain costs.
  • Increase the capacity of the rail network to carry larger volumes of freight.
  • Protect and develop the Principal Freight Network including freight movement corridors and freight places and Principal Transport Gateways by:
    • Facilitating the movement of high volumes of freight and freight of strategic value.
    • Linking areas of production and manufacturing to national and international gateways and export markets.
    • Increasing the capacity of Principal Transport Gateways and supporting their use and
    • Development as important locations for employment and economic activity.
    • Designing the Principal Freight Network to adapt to commodity market and operating changes.
    • Managing encroachment from incompatible land use and development that would undermine its ability to operate.
    • Support the development of freight and logistics precincts in strategic locations within and adjacent to Principal Transport Gateways and along the Principal Freight Network movement corridors by:
    • Allocating land for complementary uses and employment-generating activities such as distribution and warehousing.
    • Reserving and appropriately zoning land for interstate freight terminals to support development that allows for the direct and immediate delivery of goods to market.
    • Allocating land to allow high-volume freight customers to locate adjacent to interstate freight terminals including the Western Interstate Freight Terminal and the Beveridge Interstate Freight Terminal.
• Clause 18.02-5R Freight links - Geelong G21 (Greater Geelong) seeks to recognise and develop a national transport and logistics precinct to the north of Geelong connecting Avalon Airport Geelong Port and the Geelong Ring Road Employment Precinct.
• Clause 18.02-5R Freight links - Metropolitan Melbourne (Wyndham) seeks to ensure suitable sites are provided for intermodal freight terminals at key locations around Metropolitan Melbourne particularly for the Beveridge Interstate Freight Terminal and the WIFT.
• Clause 18.02-6S Ports seeks to support the effective and competitive operation of Victoria’s commercial trading ports at local national and international levels and to facilitate their ongoing sustainable operation and development. Further relevant strategies include:
  • Identify and protect key transport corridors linking ports to the broader transport network.
  • Manage any impacts of a commercial trading port and any related industrial development on nearby sensitive uses to minimise the impact of vibration light spill noise and air emissions from port activities.
  • Protect commercial trading ports from encroachment of sensitive and incompatible land uses in the port environs.
  • Plan for and manage land in the port environs to accommodate uses that depend upon or gain significant economic advantage from proximity to the port’s operations.
  • Ensure that industrially zoned land within the environs of a commercial trading port is maintained and continues to support the role of the port as a critical freight and logistics precinct.
  • Identify and protect key transport corridors linking ports to the broader transport network.
  • Ensure any new use or development within the environs of a commercial trading port does not prejudice the efficient and curfew-free operations of the port.
• Clause 18.02-7S Airports and airfields seeks to strengthen the role of Victoria’s airports and airfields within the state’s economic and transport infrastructure facilitate their siting and expansion and protect their ongoing operation. Further relevant strategies include:
  • Protect airports from incompatible land uses.
  • Ensure that in the planning of airports land use decisions are integrated appropriate land use buffers are in place and provision is made for associated businesses that service airports.
  • Ensure the planning of airports identifies and encourages activities that complement the role of the airport and enables the operator to effectively develop the airport to be efficient and functional and contribute to the aviation needs of the state.
  • Protect the environs of Avalon Airport so it can operate as a full-size jet airport focusing on freight training and services.
  • Plan the location of airfields nearby existing and potential development and the landbased transport system required to serve them as an integrated operation.
  • Plan the visual amenity and impact of any use or development of land on the approaches to an airfield to be consistent with the status of the airfield.
  • Plan for areas around all airfields so:
    • Any new use or development that could prejudice the safety or efficiency of an airfield is precluded.
    • The detrimental effects of aircraft operations (such as noise) are taken into account in regulating and restricting the use and development of affected land.
    • Any new use or development that could prejudice future extensions to an existing airfield or aeronautical operations in accordance with an approved strategy or master plan for that airfield is precluded.
• Clause 19 Infrastructure outlines that:
  • Planning for development of social and physical infrastructure should enable it to be provided in a way that is efficient equitable accessible and timely.
  • Planning should ensure that the growth and redevelopment of settlements is planned in a manner that allows for the logical and efficient provision and maintenance of infrastructure including the setting aside of land for the construction of future transport routes.
  • Planning should minimise the impact of use and development on the operation of major infrastructure of national state and regional significance including communication networks and energy generation and distribution systems.
  • Planning authorities should consider the use of development and infrastructure contributions in the funding of infrastructure.
• Clause 19.03-3S Integrated water management seeks to sustainably manage water supply water resources wastewater drainage and stormwater through an integrated water management approach.
• Clause 19.03-5S Waste and resource recovery seeks to reduce waste and maximise resource recovery so as to reduce reliance on landfills and minimise environmental community amenity and public health impacts.