By Catherine Watson
THE Cape Paterson community is celebrating tonight after winning a decade-long battle against a massive expansion of their coastal village.
While the I’s are still to be dotted and the T’s crossed, Bass MP Jordan Crugnale announced today that the town boundary will be returned to Seaward Drive.
She said a new draft map would open for consultation on the Engage Victoria website tomorrow to enable the community to affirm their wishes on the Cape boundary.
There is little doubt about those wishes since hundreds of residents have campaigned for years for exactly that result.
THE Cape Paterson community is celebrating tonight after winning a decade-long battle against a massive expansion of their coastal village.
While the I’s are still to be dotted and the T’s crossed, Bass MP Jordan Crugnale announced today that the town boundary will be returned to Seaward Drive.
She said a new draft map would open for consultation on the Engage Victoria website tomorrow to enable the community to affirm their wishes on the Cape boundary.
There is little doubt about those wishes since hundreds of residents have campaigned for years for exactly that result.
There were loud cheers from about 30 residents who had gathered in Seaward Drive for the announcement.
The boundary saga started in 2012 when then Liberal planning minister Matthew Guy extended the Cape boundary north of Seaward Drive against the wishes of the community and the council, and against the advice of a planning panel.
The extension would have resulted in 110 hectares of farm land being rezoned to residential and up to 940 dwellings built, doubling Cape Paterson’s size and population.
When then Labor Premier Daniel Andrews declared the Bass Coast Distinctive Areas and Landscapes (DAL) process in 2018 he referred to the Cape decision. “Under Labor, any attempt to expand town boundaries in the declared areas must be agreed to by the Parliament, protecting locals from the Liberals and their sneaky secret deals at kitchen tables,” he said.
Despite the promise, it’s been a long and slow process to wind back the boundary.
It was one of the most contentious issues for the DAL panel, attracting 270 submissions – 37 per cent of the total.
During last year’s DAL panel hearings, residents argued for the boundary to be returned to Seaward Drive to retain the village feel of Cape and protect the area’s sensitive coastal ecology.
The Cape Paterson Residents and Ratepayers Association (CPRRA) co-ordinated a panel of local residents, all of them experts in their own field, to present the case for restricting the township.
“We didn’t have the money to pay for lawyers or expert witnesses so we decided to take a community based approach with our experts,” CPRRA spokesman David Hayward said.
“We have some really good people working on the Cape Paterson case – retired academics and others with great local knowledge.”
Their position was boosted in February when Bass Coast Shire Council declared that the Cape expansion was no longer necessary as the Wonthaggi North East expansion ensured adequate supply of residential land in Bass Coast for the next 15 years, as required by the State.
Long-time Cape resident John Coulter said today’s announcement was the culmination of a 12-year battle.
“We fought for a long time and didn’t seem to be getting anywhere. Many of us were very tired. Then we had an injection of new people with new energy and that carried us to this point.
“There is one last step in the process but this community is really good at doing the work.”
David Hayward also expressed his relief.
“I thought the DAL process was stacked against us because so many developers were paying to have heavy hitters but I thought we put a really strong case. We just kept wowing them with the stuff that came up.
“For me, the stand out one was Geoff Glare’s because it showed local knowledge to a degree that was just awesome. He had the scientific knowledge. It was brilliant!”
Ms Crugnale said she was ecstatic to see the community’s efforts culminate in the boundary change.
“They know how precious their township is, are well aware of the environmental significance of the landscape and coastline and importantly also the pressures on existing infrastructure with more growth.”
The Cape Paterson consultation on Engage Victoria is the last step in the Bass Coast DAL process before the final Bass Coast Statement of Planning Policy is expected to be announced early next year.
The boundary saga started in 2012 when then Liberal planning minister Matthew Guy extended the Cape boundary north of Seaward Drive against the wishes of the community and the council, and against the advice of a planning panel.
The extension would have resulted in 110 hectares of farm land being rezoned to residential and up to 940 dwellings built, doubling Cape Paterson’s size and population.
When then Labor Premier Daniel Andrews declared the Bass Coast Distinctive Areas and Landscapes (DAL) process in 2018 he referred to the Cape decision. “Under Labor, any attempt to expand town boundaries in the declared areas must be agreed to by the Parliament, protecting locals from the Liberals and their sneaky secret deals at kitchen tables,” he said.
Despite the promise, it’s been a long and slow process to wind back the boundary.
It was one of the most contentious issues for the DAL panel, attracting 270 submissions – 37 per cent of the total.
During last year’s DAL panel hearings, residents argued for the boundary to be returned to Seaward Drive to retain the village feel of Cape and protect the area’s sensitive coastal ecology.
The Cape Paterson Residents and Ratepayers Association (CPRRA) co-ordinated a panel of local residents, all of them experts in their own field, to present the case for restricting the township.
“We didn’t have the money to pay for lawyers or expert witnesses so we decided to take a community based approach with our experts,” CPRRA spokesman David Hayward said.
“We have some really good people working on the Cape Paterson case – retired academics and others with great local knowledge.”
Their position was boosted in February when Bass Coast Shire Council declared that the Cape expansion was no longer necessary as the Wonthaggi North East expansion ensured adequate supply of residential land in Bass Coast for the next 15 years, as required by the State.
Long-time Cape resident John Coulter said today’s announcement was the culmination of a 12-year battle.
“We fought for a long time and didn’t seem to be getting anywhere. Many of us were very tired. Then we had an injection of new people with new energy and that carried us to this point.
“There is one last step in the process but this community is really good at doing the work.”
David Hayward also expressed his relief.
“I thought the DAL process was stacked against us because so many developers were paying to have heavy hitters but I thought we put a really strong case. We just kept wowing them with the stuff that came up.
“For me, the stand out one was Geoff Glare’s because it showed local knowledge to a degree that was just awesome. He had the scientific knowledge. It was brilliant!”
Ms Crugnale said she was ecstatic to see the community’s efforts culminate in the boundary change.
“They know how precious their township is, are well aware of the environmental significance of the landscape and coastline and importantly also the pressures on existing infrastructure with more growth.”
The Cape Paterson consultation on Engage Victoria is the last step in the Bass Coast DAL process before the final Bass Coast Statement of Planning Policy is expected to be announced early next year.