From our Chair - May 2023
Chair, Cr Michael Leaney
It’s been a productive start to the year for the Peri Urban Councils Victoria (PUCV) team, with a busy policy and advocacy program in full swing for 2023.
Peri urban councils are the new frontier in both politics and policy with peri urban municipalities currently the fastest growing areas in the country thanks to an uptake of flexible working options and people choosing liveability and affordability over inner city living.
This has widened the policy gap with peri urban areas not considered either rural or metro, and the unique and burgeoning issues of the fast-growing fringe not clearly reflected in state and federal policy settings.
Demand is outstripping supply for infrastructure, amenities and services as peri urban councils struggle to balance urban sprawl in rural settings, in addition to increased congestion across the transport network.
From a policy perspective, PUCV has commissioned a specialist consultancy to identify the critical issues arising from significant urban growth in peri urban areas and to propose solutions to address how this growth can be better planned, managed and funded.
The Managing Urban Growth in the Peri Urban Area by Hansen Partnership report is the first of its kind for the peri urban region and it will be tabled with the Federal and State Governments to help them develop a well-informed policy response to managing urban sprawl in a productive and positive manner.
The report has identified a number of urgent priority areas particularly in relation to planning policy and managing urban development to help ease the burden on local councils and provide greater consistency across the peri urban region.
As part of this work, our Board travelled to Canberra recently to advocate for improved infrastructure and services for the peri urban region. We also hosted Roundtables with both the Victorian Government and Opposition MP’s to discuss the impact of population growth.
We were pleased to see that the recent Federal Budget included new commitments to help manage some of the issues in the peri urban region, including three important new initiatives: development of a National Urban Policy; a Thriving Suburbs Program; and a Precincts and Partnerships Program. Read more
Our team has also been advocating on a number of important regional issues, notably the issue of grey spots affecting mobile data coverage. A recent qualitative survey conducted by Peri Urban Councils Victoria indicated that all member councils experience a patchy connection at certain peak times of day, and 80 per cent of members also reported deterioration in connection at certain times of year.
Looking ahead, we will be scrutinising the State Budget carefully for increased funding for our peri urban policy priorities, and continue our advocacy program to work collaboratively with government on the issues identified in the Hansen Report. I look forward to keeping you updated on our progress.
Kind regards,
Cr Michael Leaney
Chair
Peri Urban Councils Victoria