What’s the plan?

Some mornings, it's a long wait to get across Main Road

Planning Panel Direction 30. “A party who objects to the proposal must say how the proposal impacts them, how the proposal is inconsistent with Council or government policy or strategy, or both.”

From 10th February, your future in Riddells Creek will be on the table as three experienced town planning professionals appointed by the Minister for Planning reviews the Amess Road development proposal.  They will listen to what the developer, the Shire, agencies and residents all have to say, then write a report to the Minister.

Should the developer’s proposal proceed? The Advisory Committee will make recommendations.

Fifty-nine residents have booked in to speak to the Committee. Calling on their years living here and their understanding of how this town works, they will say what will happen if 1360 lots, average 350 square metres insize, 2-4 kms to the north of the town centre, go up for sale.

Riddells Creek Landcare got involved early on when the first draft of a proposal circulated in 2018. We invited people to a discussion at the end of our 2019 AGM, and to our surprise, 21 non-members turned up to join us in thinking through what this might mean for the town. We have stayed on the job since, and I have been part of the Riddells Creek Planning Group, that has kept track of what is proposed, and kept residents informed.

The Planning Group will tell the committee that what is proposed is too dense for the edge of the town, that doubling the population is too much for the town and its infrastructure, that it’s not what in fact most people in the town want, and that the development will irrevocably change the rural character of the town.

The development, as proposed, will be bad for the town.

What is still in question for me, even after five years trying to understand the planning system, is whether ‘the system’ has to consider whether the development will be good for the town. The proposal might tick all the boxes in the regulations, but is there a box that asks: is this good for the town?

Who, anyway, is responsible for planning for the future of the town? Is it driven by developers, which appears to be the case as we wait for a decision on Amess Road, or can other voices speak and influence the direction of the town?

The Shire's 2013 Riddells Creek Structure Plan opened the way for increased density close to the centre, which we all see happening as units are built onto large blocks along Main Road. The Structure Plan paved the way for the Amess Road development, designating it as an area for urban growth though at much lower density than the developer's proposal.

But the Structure Plan also committed to a plan for the town centre, and 12 years later, we are still waiting. What’s the plan for recreation facilities, for aged care services, for medical services, for education services? What’s the plan for the main road? What’s the plan for parking? What’s the plan for the shared trail set to arrive in the town any year soon? What’s the plan for more places to sit on the Friday 3.35 train to Southern Cross?

Who is responsible for planning for the town? I’d like to see them in town, talking with the people who live here. Not next year, but now. If you want to know, ask the Shire, and see where you end up.

Ross Colliver, Riddells Creek Planning Group, and Riddells Creek Landcare