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.

• Procedures like advertising, objections and appeals are described and Decision Guidelines are provided.
• Referral authorities are provided an opportunity to make a submission.

 

• If a party is not happy the matter is arbitrated by the Victorian Civil and Administrative Appeals Tribunal (VCAT)

 
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:

• Some residential design standards have been made Deemed to Comply which means that a proposal will be approved if the Standard is met.
• The rights of objectors to appeal is removed.
• The changes relate to apartments and row houses.

 
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:

• Building Envelopes to be endorsed to form part of the subdivision permit.
• Registration of building envelopes with new titles.

 
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

• The price is affordable
• Identical lots are located side by side.
• Building envelopes are approved as part of the Planning Permit to Subdivide.
• Building Envelopes are registered on title.

 
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:

• Existing and new road reserve widths of at least 18.0m
• Street parking at right angles
• Room for advanced trees with a growing canopy.

Orientation of roads and lots
 
The exhibited plans provided new roads and lanes

• New east west roads should provide frontages on the north and south side.
• Party or touching side walls on side boundaries will have no windows.
• Windows and doors can face north onto sunny private yards.
• A new 12.0m wide road abutting the south boundary of Waminda Park will enable north facing windows to overlook the park

The Action Group Report summarises the Homes West proposal, provides analysis and recommendations in relation to:

• House Design
• Subdivision Design
• Sales and Marketing

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

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

"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;

• Engage and Work with Council on Sustainable Planning and
• Development Engage and Work with Council on Sustainable Retrofits.

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