PUCV REFLECTS ON A DEFINING YEAR

With the end of the year upon us, I would like to take this opportunity to thank our stakeholders for their support throughout the year and reflect on a monumental shift that is quietly taking place across the policy spectrum. 
 
Earlier this year, Peri Urban Councils Victoria (PUCV) commissioned a landmark report by Hansen Partnership “Managing Urban Growth in the Peri Urban Area” and ignited a national conversation about the way urban growth is planned, managed and funded.
 
PUCV also convened the first ever Peri Urban Roundtable consisting of peri urban council and urban growth counterparts from around the country.
 
As a result of this body of work, PUCV was invited to participate in the Federal Government’s Urban Policy Network to help shape a new National Urban Policy, and at a state level has been recognised as a key consultative community as the government begins the process of designing Plan Victoria.
 
At a policy level, we are not only seeing a growing acknowledgment of the pressing issues caused by rapid population growth but importantly, recognition that peri urban councils are a distinct and unique region that needs to be more accurately reflected in planning and policy.
 
Peri urban councils are fundamental to helping government solve the challenges of growth, and we look forward to working collaboratively again in 2024.
 
Please accept my heartfelt good wishes for the festive season and thank you for your support over the past year.

Kind regards,
Cr Michael Leaney
Chair