_THE PLAN IS DEAD! LONG LIVE THE PLAN!

It’s official. The previous government’s metropolitan strategy ‘Melbourne 2030’ is dead. It was 12 years old.

Although arguably in an induced coma for the last few years, the approval of Amendment VC106 to the Victoria Planning Provisions and all planning schemes in the State now makes it unambiguous that the old Plan has gone.  References to the Melbourne 2030 strategy in all planning schemes in Victoria have been replaced with ‘Plan Melbourne: Metropolitan Planning Strategy’ (Department of transport, Planning and Local Infrastructure, 2014).

The birth of Plan Melbourne was announced on these pages in our last news item. Amendment VC106 makes it officially part of the statutory planning family.

The Amendment affects numerous clauses in the State Planning Policy Framework -and just to be sure that all other parts of planning schemes are properly updated, the Amendment introduces a new Clause 9 that states:

“Any references in this scheme to Melbourne 2030 (Department of Sustainability and Environment, 2002) and Melbourne 2030: A planning update Melbourne @ 5 million (Department of Planning and Community Development, 2008) are to be disregarded. Where relevant, planning and responsible authorities must consider and apply the strategy Plan Melbourne: Metropolitan Planning Strategy (Department of Transport, Planning and Local Infrastructure, 2014).”

The Amendment also introduces eight regional growth plans covering all of Victoria.

The cumulative impact of all these changes result in Clause 11 (Settlement) now reaching 58 pages in length.  The new revised and ‘simplified’ State Planning Policy Framework cannot come quickly enough!

Coinciding with Amendment VC106 has been the amendment of two Ministerial Directions: ‘Ministerial Direction No. 9 – Metropolitan Strategy’; and ‘Ministerial Direction on the Form and Content of Planning Schemes’. Both of these Directions have been updated to refer to the new Plan Melbourne strategy.

So it seems the new Plan is officially here.  We hope it leads a more productive life than its predecessor.