An amendment to the council’s planning scheme regarding 615 hectares of land in Echuca West has returned from the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning after six months.
The amendment was co-written with the Victorian Planning Authority over the past four years, but has only now been consented to by DELWP with a series of conditions.
Speaking at Wednesday night's council meeting, Cr Rob Amos said while the conditions were minor on the surface, they would stall the amendment and investment opportunity.
And council believes there needs to be more urgency about the plan going forward.
“There now needs to be recognition of an extreme sense of urgency due to land shortages in the area,” Cr Amos said.
“As a council, we must explore every avenue possible to efficiently progress the amendment to allow the town and municipality to meet the demand for new residential development, while also minimising the leakage to NSW that is present occurring.”
Cr Tony Marwood said the lack of residential land was a major hindrance to the growth of the community.
“One of the most critical issues for this region is our manufacturing, agriculture and hospitality businesses,” he said.
“They are desperately short of skilled and unskilled labour, and one of the biggest hurdles they face is they can't attract people who have nowhere to live.
“Our region is desperate for this project to get up and running as soon as possible.”
A motion was unanimously passed (minus Cr Adrian Weston, who was absent) to write to the Victorian Minister for Planning to express council's concerns about delays and inefficiencies from DELWP.
Mayor Chrissy Weller said the delay was simply not good enough, and the amendment needed to be finalised urgently.
“The amendment will provide the next 40 years of residential land supply, enabling the development of 5000 new dwellings and a new community of 14,000 residents,” she said.
“We are both frustrated and concerned by DELWP’s slow response, the inefficiency of the process and the nature of the conditions they have imposed to further progress the amendment.
“It is unacceptable that, despite the department’s prior knowledge of the urgent need for developable land in Echuca and that council has worked diligently with the VPA to prepare the amendment, our planning team has continued to face barriers in trying to finalise an outcome of such critical importance to our future.”
The land is bordered by the Murray Valley Hwy to the north, the Northern Hwy to the east, Echuca West School Rd to the south and Stratton Rd to the west.
The structure plan will guide the future development of the precinct.
It identifies major infrastructure required such as drainage, open space and traffic assets, and will integrate existing infrastructure, including the local convenience centre, schools and community facilities.
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