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In March this year BSFG member Howard Bartlett made a submission to the Victorian Parliamentary Inquiry into the supply of Housing in Regional Victoria. See article about this submission below on 28/3/ 3025.
The report on the Parliamentary Inquiry was released November 2025. This report can be downloaded here.
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Town Planning is a process of describing categories of land use.
White – No Planning Permit is Required. Conditions set out in Planning Schemes can apply. Black – Prohibited. No Planning Permit can be granted. Grey- A Planning Permit can be considered.
The discretionary (Grey) uses vary for each zone eg Industry, Residential, Farming, Public Purposes etc. National Housing Accord The National Housing Accord is an agreement across all levels of government, institutional investors, and the construction sector to address housing supply and affordability. All states and territories committed to undertaking expedited zoning, planning, and land release to deliver the joint commitment on social and affordable housing in well-located areas. Changes:
The Minister for Planning not the Council considers the Applications Some things stay the same While the Department Planners focus on the Big Build in Metro Melbourne, the existing provisions relating to residential subdivisions have not changed. Councils consider Planning Applications and decide permit conditions. Conditions tailored to local supply and labour costs can require:
When the permit issues owners can provide the building envelopes to interested buyers. The buyer can instruct a house designer prepare compliant plans and specifications and then invite builders and landscapers to quote. Housing delivered this way does not need a developer. It needs collaboration and independent advice. Ecological Sustainable Design and Development Group Actions. A Parliamentary Inquiry into the supply of homes in Regional Victoria. The submission adopted by the BSFG Committee Meeting on 27 March 2025 provides evidence that vacant residential lots ranging in size from 160m2 to 600m2 are considered a viable option for some owners, designers and builders. It is published on the BSFG Website. Requirements
B Benalla West Stage 1. Homes Victoria asked nearby neighbours, community organisations, local council and other stakeholders to provide feedback on the design plans for the new homes planned for Benalla West – Stage One. The proposal is to increase the number of houses from 20 to 48 A seventeen-page response was provided by BSFG on 4 June 2025 (the deadline). Response North Facing Windows 19 (40% of 48) houses did not provide north-facing windows. Gardening access to the rear yard 29 (60% of 48 houses) forced gardening access through the house. Car Parking for 48- 96 cars will require on street parking:
Orientation of roads and lots The exhibited plans provided new roads and lanes
The Action Group Report summarises the Homes West proposal, provides analysis and recommendations in relation to:
It can be provided on request to [email protected] Howard Bartlett 24 June 2025 Recently BSFG and ESD member Howard Bartlett made submissions to several Victorian Government enquiries on Housing; Housing In Regional Victoria, and the Homes Victoria Benalla West Consultation. (Refer Part 2 below) My impression is that Howard is making progress on getting recognition for Sustainable Design concepts in housing and is submitting a separate AGM report on his work.
An important aspect of housing is firstly having available housing you can afford to buy or rent then being able to afford living there. Many new homes seem to cater for narrow economic and generational sectors of our economy. BSFG member Kate Holmes and the Benalla Homelessness Response Group Inc have also made a submission to the Housing In Regional Victoria Enquiry and the group should be congratulated on taking on this both local and national problem. This year we had a sold-out screening of the 2025 Swanpool Environmental Film Festival which BSFG jointly partners with Swanpool Landcare. Themes covered at the 2025 festival included planetary boundaries, ecological economics, sustainable farming, protecting native forests and the oceans. The festival program and a summary report of the festival are on the BSFG website. This year we were most grateful for the local and well-known Ramey Hengen taking on the role of festival MC. Ramey filled the role with warmth, humour and diligence based on his prior research. After the film Climate Extremes, Ecological Economist Dr Phil Lawn opened the festival with his renamed presentation "Climate change, degrowth, and saving the world to save us!". You can download Phil’s presentation from the BSFG website, or listen to on Spotify, or Apple Podcast. No need to sign in. Audio recording by Shepperton's Robert McLean of Climate Conversations. Phil mentions in his talk the ecological footprint. As a scientific indicator of Ecological Sustainability, the EF shows that in 2025 humanity’s global Ecological Footprint exceeded Biocapacity by 1.8, needing 1.8 earths to sustain it. While in Australia EF/person exceeds global BC per person by 4.9. See overshoot at https://overshoot.footprintnetwork.org/. Following afternoon tea was Ep1 of the film Roots So Deep looking at regenerative cattle grazing compared to conventional agriculture in the US. MC Ramey then led Local farmer and friend Mark Foletta through aspects of managing the family farm at Yin Barun. After a short break we saw Takayna- The Heart Of Lutruwita, a journey to the vast and threatened landscapes of Australia’s largest temperate rainforest in Tasmania. Following the dinner break we saw the new David Attenborough film Ocean highlighting the damage bottom trawling is doing to the marine landscapes and ecosystems. David also pointed out that given a chance these ecosystems can recover rapidly, and he concludes that "If we save the sea, we save the world. The ocean, our final frontier". A fitting closing thought for the festival. Let’s hope there is a chance for recovery of these ocean and other ecosystems. Peter Maddock for ESDD Action Group 26 June 2025 HOWARD BARLETT'S BSFG RESPONSE TO THE HOMES VICTORIA BENALLA WEST CONSULTATION, DEADLINE IS 4 JUNE 2025. You can respond directly to Homes Victoria here https://engage.vic.gov.au/benalla-west-housing The concept plan provides, (see plan concepts in the photo gallery below). 48 Dwellings: One Bedroom Homes (25) 2 Bedroom Units (15) 3 Bedroom Units (8) Plan 1 provide an outline of the site. Plan 2 shows existing road access Plan 4 shows the existing road reserve widths. The existing road reserves are 18m and 16m wide. They contain an 8.0m and 10.0m wide road pavements, footpaths driveways and power poles, leaving little room for advanced trees and the establishment of a tree canopy. The Concept Plan provided does not comply with the BSFG position that all living room windows face north and be protected from shading at noon in Mid-Winter. 19 dwellings face east or west. Houses overlooking Waminda Park Lots 36 and 37 on the northeast side of a driveway have views across the driveway to the park. Lots 27 to 35 (9 lots) back onto Waminda Park. Four overlook the park from the second storey. (lots 29,30,31&32) Five are single-story dwellings (lots 27,28,33,34 &35) BSFG has submitted to the Inquiry into the Supply of Housing in Regional Victoria, link to this submission. This proposal is in line with the BSFG submission regarding the shortage of accommodation for single and couple renters. The consultation does not clarify if any houses will be available to buy as house and land or as completed homes. The concept plan does not reflect BFSG priorities regarding:
The surveillance of Waminda Park is poor in this proposal. It is still hidden from the general public's view by side fences and houses. Only eleven new dwellings have a direct benefit. Most passersby will miss the narrow openings as they walk or drive past. Suggestions The road network is influenced by the existing sewer easement running northward through the back of the existing lots Plan 1 The result is lots running east-west with access from the laneway. An alternative plan prepared by BSFG: Provides two new roads running east-west. Public Road frontage is provided to Waminda Park. Plan 3 All road reserves are 18.0m wide. Plan 5 Existing road reserves are widened to 18m wide with two metre widening to existing roads provided by the new development. 18m provides indented right-angle parking and street trees. It is noted that existing power poles on the north side of Ballantine Street and East side of Kelly Court will require additional road widening for mature trees not provided in the BSFG layouts below. BSFG Layouts It deletes laneways. Two new roads running east-west Public Road frontage is provided to Waminda Park. Lots with accessed from internal roads with a 6.0m wide road pavement, leaving 6.0m for driveways, which can count as visitor parking and advanced trees. Footpaths, if required, should be on one side only. Plan 6 provides 28 lots Plan 7 Provides 39 lots Provision of further refinements, including House Siting Policy for every lot, could improve the yield to the 48 provided in the consultation plans. A house siting policy proposal Party walls or touching walls on common boundaries running north-south. Glass doors, windows, and private open space on the north side of the dwellings. Ridge lines running east-west to support photovoltaic cells facing north. Protection from overshadowing in winter by locating two-storey dwellings where they only shade road reserves. Paired driveways. Party walls for carports and garages. Pedestrian access from the street to private open spaces for garden refuse and rubbish removal through carports (not through the house). Garages and Carports to be structurally independent of the house for staged construction or never built. Contact Howard Bartlett about Smart Block Design. 0409 504 420. View Concept and Smart Block Design Plans Below. The BSFG Ecological Sustainable Design and Development Action Group has made a submission to the Victorian Parliamentary Inquiry into the supply of Housing in Regional Victoria, www.parliament.vic.gov.au/regionalhousing. Its Report was adopted at the BSFG committee meeting on 27/03/2025. The Executive Summary is a call to action to owners (Owner Occupiers, Landlords and Renters) looking to move, upgrade or downsize. There is something for everyone including Designer / Builder Teams. The report is in three parts (downloads below):
Put our heads together and provide feedback before we address the Parliamentary Committee. Contact Howard Bartlett Mobile 0409 504 420 Download Executive Summary. Download Letter and Report. Download Examples. Download Attachments.
Our group has not been active for some time.
There has been some email activity related to subdivision developments in Benalla. I have contributed some articles published on our website, https://www.bsfg.org.au/ecologicalsustainable-design-and-development. (Refer previous posts on this page) The Goulburn Murray Climate Alliance may have progressed their work with Councils on the Sustainable Subdivisions Framework, https://www.gmca.org.au/sustainable-subdivisions.html. This project could be looked into again. BSFG member Howard Bartlett, 0409504420 has recently drawn our attention to a paper from the Municipal Association of Victoria, Shaping regional and rural Victoria: A discussion paper. This paper could become a catalyst for further discussion by the group as the paper considers greening of streets and reserves, solar farms, council resources, and affordable appropriate housing. There has been a focus on Sustainable Subdivisions as if the answer to Ecological Sustainability is found in housing. Personally, I think we need to look well beyond housing to achieve Ecological Sustainability. I have replied to a few emails I received from some environmental organisations, commenting they are not going to get anywhere until both population and economic growth are reduced and stabilised. This morning, I received an email from Friends of The Earth Melbourne about their campaigns. An interesting one is SKAT Updates + 'The Koalas' Documentary Screening in Melbourne in June. The trailer for the film is on Documentary Australia. The trailer mentions the koala will be extinct by 2050 as habitat is threatened by new housing developments. (Link to trailer below)
Last night I attended a webinar on Sustainable Prosperity by Steven Hail from the Modern Money Lab and speaker at the upcoming 2024 Swanpool Environmental Film Festival. His school at Torrens University of Adelaide is training Ecological Economists, economists who will consider the ecological impact of the economy and economic development. The pursuit of economic development with increasing GDP perhaps needs to be ameliorated by consideration of ecological measures, such as the Ecological Footprint, Carbon Emissions, and Planetary Boundaries. Peter Maddock
Interest in passive house design? What about as a retrofit? We can't recommend this case study highly enough. Builder Dylan endeavours 'to retrofit a draughty cottage into a modern sustainable passive house while his fiance, landscape architect Tylah's, plans for a garden oasis are battered with financial constraints. Dylan's reuse of timber from the house is driven by his concern about the embodied energy that goes into new building products ... "to be able to reuse what we can and then reinstall we're having a lot less impact". You just need to be registered for ABC I-view (free) to watch it..
"No activity for some months. Waiting on outcome of Goulburn Murray Climate Alliance work on Sustainable Subdivisions Framework, Sustainable Subdivisions (gmca.org.au). The GMCA ESD Advisor, Simon Blackwell, has commenced trialling the SSF in each municipality, not including Benalla Council. Nathan Gasperoni is monitoring this.."
Peter Maddock "Our group has had discussions about Sustainable Subdivisions. Many Subdivision Planning issues were raised and discussed within BSFG following the Dr Greg Moore talk on ‘Trees are major assets as the climate changes’ Wed, 22 February 2023.
A key document guiding subdivisions is the Planning Scheme and while the Benalla Ordinance may touch on Environment and Sustainability there is little detail on how these values should be implemented in subdivisions. It would be informative to see what other councils are doing in this area. The Bendigo Council has adopted a One Planet Living framework to guide Ecological Sustainable Design in Subdivisions. The Goulburn Broken Climate Alliance is currently running a Sustainable Subdivisions Project and their Environmentally Sustainable Development Advisor, Simon Blackwell, has commenced trialing the Sustainable Subdivision Framework in eight municipalities in the Alliance. This project has led to a sustainable subdivision in Indigo Shire. Although Benalla Council is a member of the Alliance it is not a member of this project. However, Councils Nathan Gasperoni has advised that Benalla Council will be getting feedback about this project. Existing housing stock will have a substantial influence on reaching Net Zero by 2050 so improvements here need to be considered. The Footprint Networks Earth Overshoot estimates that in 2022 we required 1.75 earths to sustain the population. We are maintaining our ecological deficit by drawing down local resource stocks, excessive disposal of waste materials and accumulating carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Our group is listed on the BSFG website as Sustainable Development and that its name, purpose, and activities are to be agreed on. Two possibilities from the BSFG Review were;
Hopefully, we can soon define the group and projects and activities to work on." Peter Maddock Report Presented to BSFG AGM on 25 May 2023
Find out more about sustainable housing design as developed at the prize winning 'The Cape' project at Cape Patterson in this podcast.featuring Jess Cuman from Adapt Design. (There's a 10 minute or so 'chatty introduction', so be patient at the beginning.)
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Ecological Sustainable Design and Development Action GroupEngage and Work with Council on Sustainable Planning and Development
Engage and Work with Council on Sustainable Retrofits ContactPeter 0418 135 330
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