THE Victorian State Government, through its statutory planning arm, the Victorian Planning Authority, is blaming the Bass Coast Shire Council and Wonthaggi land developers for the debacle that is unfolding on new residential land in the town.
Potentially costing each individual owner of a new block in the Parklands Estate, and early stages of the Powlett Ridge Estate or Northern Views Estate in the order of $50,00-plus to remedy, is the sudden imposition of a highly restrictive Environmental Audit Overlay (EAO), on land within the North East Precinct residential growth area.
The news that homeowners and block owners have been hit with a restrictive new planning overlay only came to light in the past week when a savvy local property owner circulated an information sheet highlighting the far-reaching implications for those involved.
Neither the VPA nor the council issued any advice to the owners of blocks in these estates, while the developers claim they weren’t aware the new EAOs would impact the blocks that had already been titled and sold.
However, while the shire is blaming the VPA for putting the overlays in place on January 18 this year, the developers, in turn, are blaming both the shire and the VPA for retrospectively applying EAOs to blocks of land that have already been titled, sold and resold, and in many cases built on three, four and even five years ago. The VPA is pointing the finger back at both of them.
In a statement issued Executive Director Regional Victoria, Victorian Planning Authority, Dean Rochfort, today, he has claimed the landowners and the council should have known about it back in May 2019 when the VPA “commissioned a contamination report which determined that some of the land within the precinct had a medium or high potential for contamination”.
"Bass Coast Shire and the VPA are working together to look at ways to minimise the impact on homeowners,” Mr Rochfort said.
By way of background the VPA issued the following statement today:
“An Environment Assessment Overlay (EAO) is applied to land where contamination is known or is reasonably expected. Land covered by an EAO requires an environmental audit prior to it being used for a sensitive use, including housing to ensure any contamination can be appropriately remediated before the land is developed.
“Bass Coast Shire rezoned 170 hectares of land for housing development in 2010 due to a lack of residential land supply in the Wonthaggi township. In 2016 they rezoned additional land for housing. As part of the 2016 rezoning, council prepared a contamination report for the land. An EAO was not placed on the land rezoned in either 2010 or 2016.
“In 2018, council requested the Victorian Planning Authority (VPA) assist in the planning of the Wonthaggi North East Precinct which covers a larger area of approximately 630 hectares. In May 2019, the VPA commissioned another contamination report which determined that some of the land within the precinct had a medium or high potential for contamination, relating primarily to the historic use of the land for farming and grazing purposes.
“The VPA at this point alerted council and landowners who were considering developing their land for housing that they needed to conduct a Preliminary Site Investigation. Had this occurred, the cost to get a compliant permit under the EAO would never rested with individual homeowners and would have been borne by the developer.
“Council continued to issue permits for residential subdivision without including contamination-related conditions even after they were made aware of the findings of the April 2016 report and the subsequent contamination report commissioned by the VPA in 2019.
“The contamination risks were made public when the Wonthaggi North East Precinct Structure Plan and proposed Planning Scheme Amendment was published in 2020. The Planning Scheme Amendment gazetted in January 2024 applied an EAO to ensure further development does not occur without an audit of the ground conditions and appropriate remediation.”
Bass Coast Shire Council statement
The Bass Coast Shire Council CEO Greg Box issued the following statement on Anzac Day morning, Thursday, April 25.
While both the VPA and the council say they are in discussions, seeking to resolve the situation urgently, the council also says that the onus is on the landowners and the developers to remedy the situation.
While an unresolved EAO is on your title, no building activity or other works can go ahead, and the new overlay must be reported on a Section 32 if the property is to be sold.
If you want to find out if the new EAO applies to your site, go to the Land Vic 'Property and Parcel' website and enter your address. Link:
If a house has already been built and landscaping and outdoor shedding completed, the new homeowner need take no action until they wish to carry out further works or sell the property.
But it is still a serious concern, especially for those planning to go ahead and build in the near future, or who have their property on the market in the affected area, as dozens of people have.
The shire council, which held an emergency briefing last Wednesday, said it understands it is a stressful time for those impacted.
Here’s what the shire’s CEO Greg Box had to say:
“An Environmental Audit Overlay (EAO) was applied to parts of the Wonthaggi North East Precinct Structure Plan (PSP) in January this year, after the land had been sub-divided for residential use.
“The overlay was put in place by the State Government Victorian Planning Authority after it was determined that parts of the precinct could have contaminated soil due to a history of farming on the land.
“The overlay requires developers or homeowners to complete a risk screening survey before Council can approve planning permits. It does not prevent homes being built on the land.
“While Council is unable to alter the requirements of an Environmental Audit Overlay, we are in constant discussion with the Victorian Planning Authority to resolve the situation urgently. We are also working with developers to keep individual landowners informed.
“We understand this is a stressful time for homeowners in the affected areas, and those who hold titles to build.”
Homeowners in the impacted areas spoken to the Sentinel-Times on Thursday were completely unaware that they had been caught up in a potentially costly and time-consuming bungle by the developers, council and the VPA, especially as it retrospectively impacts those who have already built homes, up to four or five years ago.
The Bass Coast Council has now developed a page on its website for affected community members:
Jordan Crugnale MP statement
Bass MP Jordan Crugnale has issued the following statement:
I want to acknowledge that the EAO has caught a number of home owners by surprise and that a letter has been circulated from an affected community member within the Wonthaggi North East PSP area.
Upon learning of this nearly two weeks ago, I immediately raised this with the Planning Minister’s office and was in contact also with Council.
The VPA (Victorian Planning Authority) and Bass Coast Shire are working together to look at ways to minimise the impact on homeowners.
I will continue to work towards a resolution and keep community members in this area updated.
Facebook page launched
The residents impacted by the planning debacle have launched their own Facebook page.
They have published that there will be a 'Bass Shire Zoning' meeting at the Bass Coast Shire Council offices in Wonthaggi on Thursday, May 2 between 12 noon and 2.30pm These details are unconfirmed.
The site also carries an explanation from the Bass Coast Mayor Cr Clare Le Serve to one of her constituents as follows:
"Thank you for youe email. Please be assured Council is working with the State to hopefully resolve this issue for all the residents. We understand it is very stressful for residents to find that this Overlay may affect them. I have registered your email with Officers. Regards Clare.
Case studies
· One young local Wonthaggi couple, who finally had the finance approved and went ahead recently and purchased a block of land in one of the impacted housing estates fear they will no longer be able to afford to build, even if they can discharge the requirements of the new Environmental Audit Overlay (EAO) and apply for a building permit.
· A pensioner couple, who went ahead and built in one of the affected estates, because they missed out on buying an established house elsewhere in the town, now want to sell because their dream home has just come back on the market. They didn’t know about the imposition of a new contamination overlay on their new property but fear they won’t be able to deal with the EAO problem in time to go ahead and buy the house they really wanted in the first place.
