VPA Update - September 2020

We are all delighted to be taking the first cautious steps out of lockdown and spring has sprung! The VPA’s new approach to its work program has been formally endorsed by government and we have some important developments to let you know about.

Precinct Structure Planning takes another step

The VPA has been working closely with councils, government agencies, landowners and developers preparing PSPs for new communities in Melbourne’s greenfields for more than a decade. 

The practice of planning for new communities has matured since the Guidelines for Precinct Structure Planning in Melbourne's Greenfields (the Guidelines) were first introduced in 2009, and while there is much we are very proud of there is also room for improvement. After 11 years, it’s time for an update.

We’ve been working with stakeholders on a PSP reform agenda over the past year to introduce the next generation of PSPs that will shape the future of Victoria.

• The reform agenda has two parts:Guidelines for Precinct Structure Planning in Melbourne's Greenfields, updating this tool to reflect contemporary best practice and embed innovation and change.
• PSP 2.o reforms to streamline the process of preparing PSPs and to ensure compact and effective PSP format and presentation.

The updated Guidelines provide the framework for preparing PSPs that guarantee quality outcomes while also being flexible, responsive and supportive of innovation.

• We believe the new Guidelines will deliver important outcomes for new communities, elevating liveability outcomes in PSPs by outlining features, principles and performance targets. The principles and targets deliver improved outcomes in the following ways:Increased densities and the provision of affordable housing
• Climate resilience and adaptation, including urban greening, integrated water management practices and bushfire management
• Planning for local employment opportunities and the facilitation of regional, state and nationally significant employment areas
• Improving accessibility to high quality public realm, jobs and services; aligning with hallmarks of 20-minute neighbourhoods
• Integration of the movement and place frameworks for designing roads that meet the needs of people and businesses

We have now released the draft Guidelines for industry and stakeholder consultation. 

Find out more about the draft updated Guidelines for Precinct Structure Planning in Melbourne’s Greenfields and have your say on the VPA website.

For more information contact John Casey, Strategic Planning Manager via [email protected].

VPA Fast Track Program

The Minister for Planning has formally approved the VPA’s accelerated approach to project delivery as part of the Victorian Government’s response to the COVID-19 crisis. In partnership with DELWP, we have identified 19 projects that were already well advanced on our work program to be accelerated, unlocking approximately $18.8 billion in estimated economic value and land for around 89,200 homes and 107,340 jobs across Victoria by mid-2021.

• This program will provide certainty for communities, a pipeline of development for industry and future jobs and homes for Victorians as the economy recovers from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Find out more on the VPA website:VPA Fast Track 19 Projects and Key Deliverables – August 2020 (Word)
• VPA Fast Track Program map
• The Minister for Planning has appointed a VPA Projects Standing Advisory Committee (SAC) to consider and resolve outstanding issues for selected projects. Find out more about the SAC here:Frequently Asked Questions – VPA Fast Track Program & VPA Projects Standing Advisory Committee (Word)
• Terms of Reference – July 2020 (PDF)
• Planning Panels Victoria (PPP) webpage

For more information about our accelerated work program, contact Filipina Moore, Director - Strategy, Engagement and Futures via [email protected].

PMP Printing Structure Plan released for comment

The VPA is gearing up to engage the Clayton community on our plans for the PMP Printing Strategic Site. Our plans aim to transform this industrial land into a mixed-use residential and commercial site to accommodate more than 1,180 new homes and 1,000 local jobs. The site will support the growing local community, provide new open space, complement the Clayton Road shopping strip and improve connections to local institutions and parks.

This will be our first planning project to go to community engagement as part of our Fast Track program, with our new streamlined process for considering and resolving submissions via the VPA Projects Standing Advisory Committee.

We will make sure that everyone with an interest can be fully informed and provide comment and input, ensuring that not being able to engage face-to-face will be no barrier to quality input. Progressing this project will help deliver jobs and economic stimulus to the local Clayton community as part of our pipeline of Fast Track projects for Victoria’s economic recovery.

Find out more about the PMP Printing Strategic Site on the VPA website.

Or contact Alexandrea Malishev, Strategic Planning Manager via [email protected].

 Getting Things Done in the COVID World

The VPA is using digital platforms to keep our work program moving. Through close collaboration with our partners, we are reengineering our processes to ensure our projects can progress notwithstanding the inability to meet face-to-face.

Using the new digital processes established by Planning Panels Victoria, we have now completed five directions hearings and two Panel hearings, for the Minta Farm ICP (7 days) and the Beveridge North West PSP (18 days), with another three hearings to be held remotely over the rest of this year (Beveridge Central ICP, Sunbury South & Lancefield Road ICP and Shenstone Park PSP).

Stakeholder and community consultation have also moved to the use of remote tools. The VPA has continued to work collaboratively with our key stakeholders through virtual meetings and co-design workshops. By taking our collaboration online, we have been able to continue to deliver and collaborate with others across the state to workshop comprehensive and considered outputs on three of our key PSP projects (Wallan East, Wallan South and Officer South).

Our face-to-face conversations with the community turned virtual this year too, enabling us to hear further feedback from the North Melbourne community on the draft plan for Arden. Our digital communications campaign reached more than 376,700 people within 5km of the precinct and provided multiple avenues for community members to give their feedback remotely.

Thanks to all of our partners and stakeholders for moving so willingly with us as we drive to get things done in our COVID-impacted world!

What will we do differently in the post-COVID world?

We are starting to tackle the big questions that will be vital in negotiating the medium- and longer-term scenarios for planning.

The unprecedented change driven by the COVID-19 pandemic will have far-reaching consequences for Victorians and where they live and work. As we work through the future impacts and opportunities, the VPA is undertaking a strategic review to assess this on development and urban growth areas across Victoria, and to ensure that we consider the implications for each of our projects.

We will work to the following principles:

• Don’t slow down - keep planning for the future to support the economic recovery of Victoria
• Get the fundamentals right - create plans for future communities that build 20-minute neighbourhoods with appropriate infrastructure and facilities
• Keep the options open - develop plans that are flexible and able to support innovation and change in a fast-changing environment

We are keen to tap into all the great thinking being done by our partners and stakeholders – we know that many of you are grappling with what COVID means for your businesses, communities and places, and we would love to hear what you are learning and what you are trialling.

If you have good ideas to share, please contact Filipina Moore, Director - Strategy, Engagement and Futures via [email protected].

The South East Economic Corridor Strategic Context Report to 2060

Melbourne’s South East is home to many regionally significant employment precincts, a national employment and innovation cluster, health and education precincts, activity centres and future PSPs.

The six remaining employment PSPs yet to be prepared for the South East support more than 2,500 hectares of land for jobs and will each play a unique role in the future economic growth of the region in the longer term.

To ensure our PSP planning makes the most of these opportunities, the VPA, in collaboration with our council and state agency partners, has prepared a strategic framework to help inform future plan-making, infrastructure decisions and economic activation programs.

The vision for the South East Economic Corridor (SEEC) includes:

• Nationally significant precincts for advanced manufacturing and engineering in the Dandenong and Southern State Significant Industrial Precinct (SSIP)
• The Casey/Cardinia Officer-Pakenham SSIP evolves to become the most significant industrial precinct in Melbourne’s South East
• The Dandenong National Employment and Innovation Cluster (NEIC) is the largest business district in the region and the Fountain Gate / Narre Warren Metropolitan Activity Centres offer substantial jobs and services
• Key health and education anchors and transport gateways support the prosperity of the region’s residents, businesses and visitors.

The strategy also prioritises infrastructure connections to unlock the development of employment land and improve the job-containment of SEEC municipalities. Jobs per 10 people in the growth area councils of Casey and Cardinia would increase from 2.6 and 3.0 today to 3.5 and 4.7 by 2060.

Find out more about the South East Economic Corridor Strategic Context Report to 2060 on the VPA website.

Or contact Brent McLean, Director - Outer Melbourne via [email protected].

Key and Essential Worker Housing Supply Action Plan

The VPA has responded to reports by businesses and councils across the Great South Coast and Barwon Regions about the difficulty in attracting and retaining key and essential workers due to the cost, availability and quantity of rental and permanent housing in economic activity areas with an initiative and far reaching plan.

The Key and Essential Worker Housing Supply Action Plan project is a positive example of three of the values the VPA holds most dear: solutions, innovation and collaboration - working collaboratively across government to speed up strategic planning to identify planning and other responses that can provide affordable housing to meet this demand.

Moyne Shire, on behalf of Glenelg, Surf Coast, Corangamite, Colac Otway and Southern Grampians Shire Councils, received funding through the Victorian Planning Authority Streamlining for Growth Program 2019/20 to develop the plan, which was managed by the VPA in an advisor capacity. 

The plan identifies mechanisms to increase the supply of rental and permanent accommodation and, in turn, increase housing affordability. Key proposals include land supply interventions and the creation of a Key and Essential Worker Housing Land Trust, identified as a mechanism to provide new housing for the region. 

The project was initiated by the CEOs of the six councils and has been endorsed by the CEO group.

Find out more and read the report on the VPA website.

Or contact Gareth Hatley, Strategic Planning Manager via [email protected].

Changed Executive Director responsibilities at the VPA

We are very pleased that Alix Rhodes has returned to the VPA from her secondment to the Building Victoria’s Recovery Taskforce. After setting in train a package of vitally important economic stimulus measures, Alix has returned to the VPA to take up the role of Executive Director, Regional Victoria. Welcome back Alix!

Dean Rochfort, who has so capably led the VPA’s Regional Group over the last eight months (as well as the Outer Melbourne group since March) will continue as the Executive Director leading our Outer Melbourne program and our organisational development agenda.

And some final late-breaking news: unfortunately, due to the ongoing impact of COVID we will not be holding our annual stakeholder event this December.

Stay well, and as our state moves toward a COVID normal, I look forward to working alongside you to contribute to Victoria’s economic recovery.