Residential wasteland: Is this the best we can do?

THE Bass Coast Planning Scheme says this about the importance of protecting native vegetation across the shire:

“There is very little indigenous vegetation remaining on private land within the Shire. The significant flora and fauna habitats are generally located on Crown land.

“Therefore, it is extremely important that what vegetation remains is protected from indiscriminate clearing, maintained and enhanced to form part of wildlife corridors to ensure biodiversity of locally indigenous species, and to be able to be enjoyed and appreciated by future generations.”

So, surely this can’t be what the community had in mind when the council introduced Schedule 2 of the Vegetation Protection Overlay as it relates specifically to Phillip Island residential areas (see photo).

“It is estimated that less than 15 per cent of Phillip Island retains a natural cover of vegetation. Given the general lack of vegetation on Phillip Island, it is important to protect indigenous and large native trees in urban areas,” says the current planning scheme.

“The urban areas of Phillip Island are generally characterised by native vegetation that contribute towards the character of these seaside communities and provide habitat for native fauna.”

That used to include koalas in significant numbers. But not now.

“A permit is required to remove, destroy or lop any tree or shrub with a girth greater than 30 centimetres (when measured 30 centimetres above ground level) or a height of at least two metres.”

Council has a set of guidelines for considering applications for the removal of vegetation for nedw housing, including:

“The reason for any removal of native vegetation and whether an alternative option can be developed which conserves the vegetation.”

The policy is clearly not working when you see total removal of vegetation on many sites and high yield McMansions allowed to go boundary to boundary, front, back and side-to- side, often to the detriment of existing homes which have left space by design.

But, if you can believe the shire, all this is set to change, including the introduction of set height limits where a blurry policy now exists allowing homes to stretch up to 11 metres in height.

Here’s what the shire had to say:

“Currently, DELWP is in the process of producing a Statement of Planning Policy for Bass Coast (as part of the Distinctive Areas and Landscapes Project),” said a spokesman for the shire.

“At a high level, this will seek to address the critical issue of managing the ongoing tension between population growth and development pressures against the protection of the environment and significant landscapes.

“To achieve this, it is likely that there will be further restrictions on urban encroachment into sensitive areas than what is currently stipulated in the Bass Coast Planning Scheme.

“What the SPP will not do, however, is consider how Council manages the population growth and housing change that will occur once land available in greenfield areas is consumed and growth is directed to the established residential areas within the existing settlement boundaries.

“So, to complement the SPP, Council is preparing a housing strategy and neighbourhood character study. Combined, these two separate pieces of work will help Council manage the tension between balancing the demand for new residential development (within the existing residential areas) with the impact on neighbourhood character.

“This work is essential because it guides the level of housing change across the established residential areas and will inform the appropriate Residential Zones and Overlays that should be applied to achieve the desired outcomes.”

Gobbledygook translation: Residential development will be reduced in areas like Inverloch and Phillip Island, and directed to residential growth areas like that set out in the Wonthaggi North East Precinct Structure Plan.

Hopefully, it also means that new home builders will not be able to destroy “neighbourhood character” by stripping all the vegetation from their land pre-construction or to build out their blocks, boundary-to-boundary, with 11-metre-high boxes.

How long it takes the Bass Coast Shire Council to get its new-look planning scheme up will determine how much more will be lost.