Planning Scheme Amendment VC201 was gazetted on 16 December 2022. The Amendment aims to improve waterway health, amenity and access while acknowledging the important community and cultural values associated with waterways. The amendment updates the Victorian Planning Provisions and all planning schemes by amending State and regional level planning policy to acknowledge the importance of waterways and provide guidance on how to and what to consider near waterways. The Amendment introduces two new regional policies for the Rivers of Barwon (in the Ballarat, Colac Otway, Golden Plains, Greater Geelong, Moorabool, Surf Coast and Queenscliffe planning schemes) and Waterways of the West (in the Brimbank, Greater Geelong, Hobsons Bay, Hume, Macedon Ranges, Maribyrnong, Melbourne, Melton, Mitchell, Moonee Valley, Moorabool, Merri-bek and Wyndham planning schemes).
The amendment also introduces a range of overlay controls using the Significant Landscape Overlay (SLO). The new overlays provide place-based guidance for these significant waterways. The policies guide preferred development outcomes and landscape protection along these waterways. The SLO controls generally address:
- the siting and design of buildings and fences
- the removal of vegetation
- the undertaking of earthworks.
The SLO controls are available to practitioners when obtaining a planning property report or searching a property address online at the State Government planning website https://mapshare.vic.gov.au/vicplan
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