Extractive Industries Protection from Residential Uses

Planning permit applicants should be aware that a recent planning scheme amendment seeks to provide protection to extractive industries from the impacts of expanding urban areas.

Amendment VC 196 applies to all planning schemes in Victoria, making changes to the Victoria Planning Provisions to provide stronger recognition and protection of existing extractive industries, and to designate land with State-significant earth resources, where extractive industries may be established in the future, as strategic extractive resource areas.

The amendment was introduced on 19 August 2021 and makes changes to State Planning Policy at:

  • Clause 14.03-1S Resource exploration and extraction
  • Some overlay provisions and
  • Particular provisions at Clause 52.09 Extractive industry and extractive industry interest areas.

The Amendment makes changes specific to Wyndham, Cardinia and South Gippsland Planning Schemes by introducing:

  • A Schedule (Extractive Industry) to the Special Use Zone and
  • The State Resource Overlay Schedule 1 to land containing extractive industry operations and to other areas of land with State-significant supplies of earth resources.
  • The State Resource Overlay Schedule 2 around land containing extractive industry operations, to protect these operations from encroachment by sensitive land uses.

 

The amendment also changes the referral provisions to require a referral to the Secretary administrating the Mineral Resources (Sustainable Development) Act 1990 of applications that could negatively impact the long-term viability of the extractive industry.

The State Resource Overlay at Clause 44.07 has new provisions for subdivision, buildings and works that require applications for subdivision, buildings and/or works within the Overlay, to be accompanied by a report that verifies that the proposal will not unreasonably impact the protected extractive industry.

In conjunction with the above new and altered provisions, practitioners should also be aware that Clause 52.09 Extractive industry and extractive industry interest areas (introduced 24 January 2020) applies to an application:

  • To use or develop land for extractive industry,
  • Within an Extractive Industry Interest Area or
  • Within 500 metres of an existing or proposed extractive industry operation.

 

If you have projects near existing or proposed extractive industry operations, you should familiarise yourself with the above.

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