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MANSFIELD COURIER - Wednesday, October 4, 2023 - Page 1
2022
Incorporating
Wednesday, October 4, 2023
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HOW’S THE SERENITY? MANSFIELD’S youngest thespians took to High Street recently to promote the Mansfield Musical and Dramatic Society’s upcoming season of The Castle 2. Written by Dr Will Twycross, the musical draws inspiration from family-favourite film, The Castle, with the local production focusing on the Kerrigan grandchildren moving to Bonnie Doon. With the season running for two weeks from October 14, tickets are already selling fast.
Planning: Shire cuts times AMID the rowdy debate over the State Government’s short-stay levy on accommodation platforms, its dramatic move to snatch local planning powers from councils has largely gone unnoticed. The state’s ambitious housing statement released last month includes sweeping reforms to wrest planning approvals from local government, in an effort to “clear backlogs and cut down application times”. According to the state government, a backlog of 1400 housing permit applications have been
State Government’s housing g statement removes local planning p g powers p BY HANNAH KENNELLY hkennelly@ nemedia.com.au
stuck with local councils for more than six months. The government said it has a dedicated team who will “work with project proponents, local councils, and referral agencies to resolve issues delaying council decision-making”. But Mansfield Shire infrastructure and planning general manager Melissa Crane said council “did not
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have a significant backlog of housing permits” and had worked hard over the years to address this issue. “The average number of days for processing of planning permits in Mansfield Shire has significantly reduced over the last 12 months, with average timeframes for determination of permits currently sitting below 60 days consistently,” she said. Ms Crane said the council typically received 20-25 new applications a month and was in the process of
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assessing many more. “Council currently has 104 applications open and being assessed which includes 52 dwellings,” she said. “Over the past 12 months many new dwellings have been approved. “However the timing of construction will be dependent on other market factors such as the availability of building contractors.” The Municipal Association of Victoria released a statement on September 20 saying
councils were not consulted on the changes to local planning powers. “Councils want to ensure communities are not completely locked out of the planning process with no third party appeal rights in respect of these applications,” MAV Deputy President Cr Joseph Haweil said in a statement. “One thing Operation Sandon made very clear is that we need clearer guidelines for decisions and more transparency”. Tabled in July this
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year, Operation Sandon was an investigation into allegations of corrupt conduct in Victoria’s planning decision–making processes at both state and local government levels. In their August meeting this year, Mansfield councillors discussed the report’s recommendations which included replacing the current planning permit applications being considered by Council with an independent panel process. ■ Continued page 2
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