Oscar Parry
Hume has released its submission to the state’s Plan for Victoria, with the state government calling for input in regards to five ‘pillars’ of growth.
The Plan for Victoria will act as a blueprint for guiding how Victoria grows and develops.
The five pillars of growth referred to in the plan are affordable housing and choice, thriving and liveable suburbs and towns, equity and jobs, sustainable environments and climate action, and self determination and caring for country.
In its submission, Hume suggested an additional pillar – implementation and governance, calling for increased and deeper collaboration between state and local governments.
In the introduction to the council’s submission, it said that this would assist with growth in established areas of Hume, and that “council remains willing to accept further growth in our established areas closer to transport and services but emphasises the importance of integrated planning, investment and sequencing of growth to ensure a better standard of living for all.”
At the August 26 council meeting, councillor Karen Sherry said that Hume suggests a new body to manage this additional element.
“We suggest that a new body to oversee infrastructure coordination and funding is necessary to ensure the implementation and governance of Plan Victoria,” Cr Sherry said.
Councillor Joseph Haweil said that he hopes the details of the plan for the future of Victoria eventuate into “tangible policies that change and improve people’s lives.”
Some of the 27 recommendations made by Hume in the submission included updating the Melbourne Airport Environs Overlay to reflect the 2022 Master Plan to unlock increased densities and diverse housing options, creating a template for good design of townhouse and medium density products across all price points, and piloting inclusionary zoning or similar approach to enable inclusion of affordable housing in new developments.
The state’s new Plan for Victoria is set to be publicly released late this year.
