Amendment VC280 has now dropped into the Victorian planning schemes, introducing a new planning assessment pathway called the Great Design Fast Track (Clause 53.25). The pathway is aimed at facilitating the delivery of high-quality townhouses and apartment developments, specifically low–to–mid-rise buildings between 2 to 8 storeys. These developments must contain at least 8 dwellings and be in locations with convenient access to public transport and community services.
This new planning pathway aligns with other ‘fast track’ mechanisms that form part of the Development Facilitation Program, whereby the Minister of Planning/Department of Transport and Planning (DTP) is the Responsible Authority (RA).
A key benefit of this pathway is the ability for the RA to waive or vary the following:
Applications under this pathway are also exempt from third party appeals despite advertising still being required, which is consistent with the operations of the newly released Low Rise Code (Clause 55). Proposals can include non-residential uses as part of the overall residential scheme.
The planning and design of proposals will be guided by a newly released ‘Design Principles’ published by the Minister for Planning. These principles form the first part of the ‘State Design Book’, intended to outline what well-designed housing looks like in Victoria. The Design Principles are to be treated as a guide comprising suggested outcomes and examples and are not to be used in a prescriptive manner. The waiver or varying of a requirement will be assessed against the zone, the proposal’s response to the design principles, and the strategic and physical context. For example, a guide for waiving or varying the height requirement across different zones is shown in Table 1.
The key criteria of a proposal to qualify for this pathway are:
At Ratio, we envisage that the uplift gained through the waiver or variation of mandatory controls/statutory requirements will attract residential development opportunities – particularly on sites constrained by mandatory building heights (ie. Neighbourhood and General Residential zoned land) but well positioned in or near activity centres. This pathway offers an alternative fast-tracking opportunity for proposals that do not meet the cost of development/ affordable housing thresholds of other pathways in the planning scheme.
We welcome this new planning initiative and hope that it will be successful in delivering innovative, quality homes in a more timely manner. We hope to see the pathway live up to its title.
If you have any queries or want to know more, please do not hesitate to reach out to your Ratio contact or email us at mail@ratio.com.au
