Will the Victorian government take planning away from some Councils?

The Age reports that Planning Minister Justin Madden is considering seizing control of sections of suburban Melbourne and Geelong to speed development, after a key piece of his planning legislation was defeated in Parliament.

Mr Madden would assume planning control of five activity centres in Camberwell, Coburg, Doncaster Hill, central Geelong and Preston, and the takeover would probably extend to all Melbourne's 26 "principal activity centres". Mr Madden said yesterday that becoming the responsible authority for those areas was "one of the options I will consider".

On Thursday, non-government parties voted down a plan to introduce development assessment committees (DACs) to control planning permit decisions in activity centres such as shopping strips. Decisions in those areas are now made by local councils. Many oppose the committee model because they believe it will strip communities of control of their neighbourhoods.

The committees were to comprise two local government representatives, two state government representatives and a chairperson. The Government hoped the committees would help resuscitate its Melbourne 2030 planning policy, which has not been applied fast enough to curb urban sprawl.