The UDIA is the peak body representing all segments of the development industry. A highly respected organisation, the Institute has been representing property development in Victoria for over 30 years.
UDIA (Vic) has forwarded a submission to the Victorian Planning System Ministerial Advisory Committee, chaired by Geoff Underwood. The submission drew upon a survey of members, identifying the top ten planning system issues affecting UDIA members. They were:
• Local government resourcing
• Biodiversity Issues
• Precinct Structure Planning Processes
• Permit conditions
• Contradictions between “objectives” and outcomes
• Inconsistency from local government area to local government area
• Engineering Standards
• The process of negotiating developer contributions and S173s
• Disconnect between land use planning and infrastructure provision
• Zoning laws and restrictions
Tellingly, the survey of members found there were no respondents who agreed with the statement “overall [the planning system] works well”. Meanwhile, 48 per cent of respondents considered that the system needed a complete overhaul and 52 per cent thought that the system “works well for the majority of the time but is not working well in a number of ways.”
The submission states that developers look for a system that is timely, consistent and contains certainty. In a number of areas, Victoria’s planning system fails all three of these tests.
An overwhelming response was received to the CPG and UDIA photography competition “Picture your Community”.
Thank you to everyone who participated. Winners will be announced in February 2012.
EnviroDevelopment is a ground-breaking environmental assessment scheme designed to inspire and increase sustainable development throughout Victoria.
Introduced in recognition of consumer demand and the urgent need to hasten the uptake of sustainable development, the Urban Development Institute of Australia (UDIA) has designed a programme which recognises high achievement across a wide range of projects, in six key areas of sustainability: Water, Energy, Ecosystems, Community, Materials, and Waste.
Villawood Properties, Peet, Simonds and Stockland are recipients of EnviroDevelopment certification.
For more information on EnviroDevelopment and a copy of the standards, please contact Sustainability Manager Ricki Hersburgh at UDIA (Vic) on 03 9832 9600 or go to link below.
