The Minister for Planning, Matthew Guy has launched a Metropolitan Planning Strategy Discussion Paper, ‘Melbourne, let’s talk about the future’. This discusses the challenges and ideas for Melbourne’s future including growth and consolidation, transport, affordable living and employment. The Chair of the Advisory Committee is Professor Roz Hansen.

Separately the government is introducing the most radical changes in Melbourne’s zoning for 30 years. There will be six zones – an Activity Centre Zone, 3 new residential zones and the five existing business zones will be combined into two commercial zones (a Comprehensive Development Zone and a Mixed Use Zone). The details of how the new zoning will be applied in our municipality are not yet known. This will be a very important, albeit difficult, discussion for Council and the community in the next term of Council.

The Minister has said that this is just the beginning of the plan. He will brief community groups on the 20th November from 4 pm to 6pm in the Gippsland Room, Investment Centre Victoria, Level 46, 55 Collins Street. Please come!

Planning Backlash is a coalition of resident groups including unChain Inc. Its convenor says ‘The Minister will then announce further sessions which he will give us money to run in different parts of Melbourne. He has a hefty budget for councils and for resident groups to run community sessions to find out what people want for the future of Melbourne and surrounds. This is our chance to get the right thing for the future of Melbourne. The main thing he wants is to really get to the people to find out what they want. And Matthew Guy is convinced that we are the ones with our groups who have access to people at grass roots level.

We want as many active residents and resident groups as possible to attend this initial briefing. Please RSVP to Ms Nikita Walsh, MPS Unit, Department of Planning and Community Development Phone 9208 3837 or email planmelbourne@dpcd.vic.gov.au.

I will be attending. I suggest that anybody else from the unChain mailing list who will attend should contact me at hollandp@me.com or 0411 470 651 and we can meet beforehand and afterwards. Similarly if anybody is unable to attend but wants to know what happened, please contact me.

This has the potential to be very good for protecting our residential amenity.

~ Peter Holland
unChain President