New Structure Plan for Our District

NOVEMBER UPDATE: A new structure plan for Aireys Inlet, Fairhaven, Moggs Creek and Eastern View has now replaced the existing Structure Plan developed in 1993.

On initiating the planning process the Surf Coast Shire said ‘The plan will help guide the way the settlements develop and change over the next 20 to 30 years to ensure the highly valued features of the towns are protected and the towns remain a great – or even better – place to live, work, visit and play for current and future generations of residents and visitors.’ and that “Community consultation will be an important part of the structure plan’s development.” Council received ninety-four submissions, an indication that the community knows the importance of these documents.

The AIDA committee first met with the shire and its consultants in January 2015 and continued throughout the year to liaise with them to help develop the plan and to make sure it accurately reflects the values, aims and objectives of AIDA, which are based on the results of over thirty years of surveys of the views of our community. AIDA’s recommendations aimed to clarify the shire’s initial understanding of the key local issues to be taken into account, under the headings of:

Environment, emphasising its central importance in all local planning
Heritage, relating to the Waddawurrung traditional lands
Character, focussing on the importance of our coastal village character and the ongoing threats to it
People and housing, including demographic changes, older persons’ housing, the appropriate types of commercial developments and recognition of the district’s creative character
Tourism, activity and commercial areas, stressing their low-key character and the need for improved pedestrian connections
Recreation, supporting more informal walking and cycling routes and opposing reference to a sporting oval in the Painkalac Valley
Transport and roads, under sub-headings covering sustainability, informal character, shared pedestrian/ vehicle use and tourist traffic, and
Fire risk and safety, addressing the tension between fuel reduction and environmental character, the need for places of last resort, local emergency mobile bandwidth capacity and Great Ocean Road traffic management on high fire-risk days.

Following the release by the shire of their draft Vision & Principles Statement, AIDA submitted a number of comments and suggestions on the draft that were incorporated into the final draft that was considered for Council endorsement at the Council meeting in late April.

In response to AIDA’s observations that planning controls need strengthening because local character is under continuing threat from over-zealous developments, planning permits being issued for developments which clearly don’t meet the planning scheme’s objectives, and infrastructure (pathways, roads, traffic management and signage) which fail to follow established objectives, AIDA was asked to make a further submission on where the planning processes for buildings, infrastructure and precincts are currently failing, and how they might be improved.

In June, the second phase of community consultation took place in the Aireys Inlet Hall, on the shire’s preliminary draft of the structure plan’s key directions and key actions and also the proposed urban design framework for the Top and Bottom Shops – bringing together the ideas canvassed in stage one. These proposals contain a number of strengths, but also a number of problem areas requiring further changes. AIDA is currently preparing its response to these proposals.

At its meeting on 28 July the shire received the draft structure plan and urban design framework for the Top and Bottom Shops. The council resolved to put it on public exhibition for four weeks for community feedback. Some of the major recommendations of the structure plan include:

Contain the townships within their existing settlement boundaries to protect the surrounding environmentally significant land and retain buffers to the Great Otway National Park.
Facilitate the redevelopment of 2 Fraser Drive for higher density housing suitable for older persons and incorporate the community garden on the site.
Not progress the development of an active recreation space in the Painkalac Creek Valley, butinvestigate the opportunity for enhancement of the primary school oval for recreational use and continue to facilitate the sharing of sports facilities in Lorne, Anglesea, Bellbrae and Torquay.
Work with GORCC, VicRoads and affected landowners to address the environmental, traffic and amenity impacts of large visitor numbers at the Great Ocean Road Memorial Arch at Eastern View.
Construct a pathway linking the Bottom Shops with Old Coach Road via River Reserve Road and Bambra Road and provide a continuous pathway between the Top and Bottom Shops.
Recognise the value to the community of the Aireys Pub as a social focal point and consider future opportunities for additional tourist-oriented uses on the site.
Lobby VicRoads to permanently reduce the speed limit to 50 km/h from Boundary Road, Aireys Inlet, to the SLSC in Fairhaven and to 60 km/h in Eastern View.
Investigate the feasibility of providing public toilets at the Community Hall in lieu of the Top Shops.

AIDA’s response to the draft structure plan and urban design framework were submitted to the shire on September 17th 2015. Shire councillors considered the final draft of the structure plan and framework at their November meeting. Decisions and current information can be seen on the council website: http://www.surfcoast.vic.gov.au/My_Council. Click on Agendas & Minutes.