Council
11 April, 2025
C’mite protects prime agricultural land
PRIME agricultural land is set to be protected for future generations of farming after Corangamite Shire Council voted to seek authorisation from Minister for Planning Sonya Kilkenny to incorporate the Grow Corangamite strategy into the Corangamite Planning Scheme.
Councillors unanimously moved the recommendation at last month’s Ordinary Meeting of Council.
Planning Scheme Amendment C67 will apply a new Farming Zone schedule to land identified with state significance in the Grow Corangamite strategy, which will mean timber production will require a planning permit.
Three new Rural Living Zone schedules will be applied to land within the Rural Living Zone to identify the existing minimum subdivision area with more clarity.
Councillor Laurie Hickey said Amendment C67 was a “very significant amendment with far-reaching objectives”.
“Agriculture does bring $1.14 billion to the economy of Corangamite, so it is a very valuable sector,” he said.
“Australia does aim to increase the shire’s agricultural land and manage the competing land uses, and agricultural sustainability can be looked at through economic, environmental and also social lenses.
“It’s important to make sure that whoever’s using this land is actually contributing to the fabric of our community and to our shire.
“By protecting the land of significance, it does mean that this will be protected for ongoing generations.”
The amendment looks to:
Amend Clause 02.03 Strategic Directions to include updated policy direction for agriculture and rural areas;
Amend Clause 02.04 Strategic Framework Plan to introduce a new framework plan that shows agricultural land of state and regional significance.
Amend Clause 14.01-1L ‘Protection of agricultural land’ to give effect to the recommendations of the Grow Corangamite Strategy;
Amend Clause 14.01-1L ‘Dwellings and rural workers accommodation in the Farming Zone’ to give effect to the recommendations of the Grow Corangamite Strategy;
Amend Clause 14.01-1L ‘Subdivision in the Farming Zone’ to give effect to the recommendations of the Grow Corangamite Strategy;
Amend Clause 14.01-3L ‘Forestry and timber production’ to give effect to the recommendations of the Grow Corangamite Strategy;
Amend Clause 19.01-2L ‘Renewable energy’ to give effect to the recommendations of the Grow Corangamite Strategy;
Introduce new schedules to the Rural Living Zone to simplify the application of minimum subdivision controls;
Amend Schedule One to the Farming Zone to apply to state significant agricultural land, and
Introduce a new Schedule Three to the Farming Zone to apply to regional significant agricultural land.
Cr Geraldine Conheady said the Grow Corangamite strategy had covered a range of matters important to the Corangamite Shire.
“The focus was on strategic and policy direction and planning controls within the Corangamite Planning Scheme, and the range of recommendations from that work and the review of the Corangamite Shire plans clearly indicate the necessity to implement this amendment,” she said.
“Our municipal planning strategies and controls must be stronger and more specific to guide good decision-making in the future.
“We certainly have had some quite challenging matters in terms of planning decisions.
“This is especially so in our farming zones to support the proven agricultural activities that have underpinned Corangamite Shire’s prosperity and provided the jobs, the economic value, the productivity and the opportunities.
“One of the key outcomes is the identification of agricultural land of strategic and state significance, and this has further revealed how critical it is to manage competing land use which has emerged in recent years as a concerning challenge in the rural zone.”
Cr Conheady said some of the pressures faced by farming zones within the shire included timber production, new energy projects and requests to excise small allotments.
“These are threatening fragmentation of and permanent loss of prime farming land from agricultural use,” she said.
“We must ensure that our farmland of strategic significance and productivity is protected for its string food production capability and in turn the support of our communities and our economy.”
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