MELBOURNE’S URBAN SPRAWL EXTENDS

The proposed expansion of Melbourne’s Urban Growth Boundary has significant implications for quarry owners in the area.

Report by CMPA Executive Director, ROGER BUCKLEY.

THE Government recently released its proposed new, expanded Urban Growth Boundary which incorporates the area required to house the next 20 years of population growth expected for Melbourne.

Some of the projected population growth will be housed within the existing metropolitan area, but additional urban growth areas are required to provide for an extra 284,000 dwellings. An additional 41,000 hectares of land is proposed to be brought into the urban area, of which 26,000 hectares is identified as being suitable for residential and employment development. These new boundaries are planned to be in place by the end of 2009.

Most growth will occur around Melton, Werribee, Craigieburn, Wallan, Sunbury and Cranbourne.

The CMPA contacted over 130 Work Authority holders around Melbourne for their comments. The CMPA submission to the Growth Areas Authority follows:

EXISTING QUARRIES SHOULD NOT BE ZONED FOR URBAN DEVELOPMENT

The CMPA welcomes the Growth Areas Authority (GAA) statement that existing quarries and their buffers are unsuitable for development, but urge that a firm commitment be made that these sites will not be zoned for urban development. It is also important for the GAA to not zone for urban development extensions to these existing quarries where there is an identified resource.

Without such protection, an unnecessary restriction is placed on these legitimate quarrying businesses. Site specific quarry extensions should be considered by the planning and environmental regulatory authorities at the time of the proposal rather than be restricted at the strategic level now.

POTENTIAL QUARRY SITES SHOULD NOT BE ZONED FOR URBAN DEVELOPMENT

Potential quarry sites where a resource has been identified by drilling should also not be zoned for urban development. Such a resource may have been identified by individual companies at considerable cost and be confidential and commercially sensitive information.

CMPA encourages the GAA to strategically consider the value of these resources so that they are not sterilised from use by future generations.

STRATEGIC ASSESSMENT OF EXTRACTIVE INDUSTRY INTEREST AREAS

The CMPA notes that urban development is scheduled to occur within large areas of Extractive Industry Interest Areas (EIIAs) in the west around Rockbank, in the north around Donnybrook and Beveridge and in the east near Clyde.

We understand that EIIAs do not provide statutory protection for such resources or that extractive industry would be confined to these areas, however the CMPA is highly concerned that these interest areas may be reduced as a result of this review.

Any such changes which impact upon EIIAs should only be finalised after detailed geological assessments have been made by Government, and the resource assessed considering the benefit it does, or can, provide to the community.

The collection of information on construction material resources within the EIIA must take into account the quality (i.e. grades and end uses of materials), quantity (i.e. approved commercially winnable materials) and markets for the resource. Each area and indeed each Work Authority needs to be assessed on its individual market areas.

This will ensure that we will not be left with inaccurate assumptions as to the resources in specific areas.

PROVISION OF LOW COST CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS TO THE MARKET

A key issue for Government in considering the location of quarries is the issue of transport costs of material to market. Hard rock and sand are significant cost components of concrete and roads. If quarries are forced to move further away from their market due to urban encroachment, increases in transport costs associated with longer haul distances from quarry to market will lead to significantly increased cost of infrastructure projects.

In addition, there is greater environmental impact (greenhouse gases, air & noise pollution) and social costs (road maintenance, road accidents) from transporting materials a longer distance.

More information can be obtained from www.vic.gov.au/planningmelbourne

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