Out of the rail loop
Herald Sun - Wednesday, 15 Sep 2021 - Page 11
Councils fear no say over land
COUNCILS fear they will lose their say in planning large swathes of their municipality under new laws to be introduced for the Suburban Rail Loop.
One local government has warned the changes could affect their control over a quarter of the land in their boundaries.
The Andrews government will on Thursday push on with legislation for the mammoth project which gives planning powers to a new Suburban Rail Loop Authority (SRLA) and Suburban Rail Loop Minister Jacinta Allan.
The laws include controls over zones around future stations , up to a 1600m radius, which will be earmarked for denser residential and commercial towers.
The state government says a uniform approach is needed for the project as it runs across the boundaries of 11 separate councils with different regulations .
Early works have begun on the first stage of the underground railway line which is forecast to cost about $34.5bn.
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Under the new laws, the SRLA will have the power to stop “conflicting developments” around the station sites and councils will need to obtain the consent of the rail loop minister for planning scheme changes in these areas.
The Premier will also be given new powers to declare if future developments are Suburban Rail Loop projects.
But local councils along the path of the loop have flagged concerns.
In a letter seen by the Herald Sun, Whitehorse City Council said it was worried the legislation could hand over control of a quarter of its municipality and allow the SRLA to make changes without notice .
Mayor Andrew Munroe said the council understood the need to improve processes for major projects. “However we are concerned that the SRL Bill, which puts forward broad ranging powers, has the potential to take power from councils without proper scrutiny or consideration of the local impacts ,” he said.
Ms Allan said the government would partner with local communities and councils at every stage of planning the project.
The Opposition’s leader in the Legislative Council David Davis said councils had pointed to serious problems with the government’s approach. “They want to take powers away from local communities,” he said.