Due to significant interest from the community, Council has extended the due date for submissions on the draft Hampton Park Hill Development Plan until 6.00 pm on Sunday 14 August 2022, giving residents more time (six weeks in total) to have their say on this important project.
City of Casey Manager Planning and Building, Duncan Turner said more than 290 written submissions on the draft plan have already been received, and encourage residents who are keen to share their views on any aspects of this plan to complete the survey.
Consultation opportunities to date have included:
- two virtual community information sessions
- a separate virtual briefing with the Lynbrook Residents Association and Landfill Community Reference Group in July
- Public notices, alerting the community to the opportunity to provide their input on the draft development plan, published in the local media, along with a media release which was issued on 6 July
- letters were sent directly to about 2,600 properties in and adjoining the development plan area, making them aware of the draft Hampton Hill Development Plan, how they could participate in community engagement opportunities, and where they could find more detailed information about the project. This direct communication also included a detailed frequently asked questions information pack of some five pages.
Council has also again reached out to the Lynbrook Residents Association to arrange another meeting with the Committee.
Mr Turner said the draft development plan seeks to guide how land in this precinct will be used in the future, including the transition of the landfill site to parkland once the landfill ceases operating, setting aside land to facilitate local employment, providing more information on land use within the existing 500 metre landfill buffer, and the future provision of a contemporary enclosed transfer station to support the resource recovery needs of the community as outlined by the State Government.
“The Environment Protection Authority (EPA) applied a 100 metre buffer around the landfill site when it was first established in the early 1990s, and about 15 years later the EPA extended it to a 500 metre buffer. Council is seeking to be transparent and making it clear on the development plan which area this buffer relates to and how this affects properties in that zone,” Mr Turner said.
“Part of this site has been identified by the Victorian State Government, through the State-wide Waste and Resource Recovery Implementation Plan (Sustainability Victoria, 2018), as a significant site for waste and resource recovery. The future proposed transfer station will be an enclosed design to reduce off-site impacts of noise, dust and smell. The draft development plan sets the parameters under which any planning application will be considered.
“The draft development plan is not a proposal to extend the life of the landfill at the site, which has a permit to operate until 2040. The landfill is currently filling its final cells and rehabilitation work at this site is expected to start within the next 10 years, over which time that area will be progressively turned into a public open space.”
Anyone interested in this project is encouraged to go to our Casey Conversations page and complete the survey to have their say.