By Callum Ludwig
Yarra Ranges Council Mayor Jim Child put the spotlight on the proposed Warburton Mountain Bike Destination at the Council meeting on Tuesday 25 October.
In the mayoral announcements, Cr Child mentioned that he recently attended a meeting of the Eastern Region Group of Councils (EGRC) meeting and they all gave their unconditional support to a letter being sent to the Minister for Planning Lizzie Blandthorn about the project.
“Councillors are well aware of the situation that we have with an environment effects statement, which has had no result and Council has invested in excess of $5 million in that process,” he said.
“This council has given its unanimous support for this project over the last 10 years and here we have our Eastern Region Group of Councils who have supported this strategic direction for this very important project.”
A referral to Richard Wynne, the then Minister for Planning was made on 19 December 2019. It took until 21 May 2020 for the decision to be made that an Environmental Effects Statement was required, despite the recommended period for that decision being made being only 20 days.
Cr Child said the recreation project is meant to be fully funded by the state, federal government and local government and even the community.
“The community have put in $300,000 of their own money in here and we are still waiting for the Minister to make a decision,” he said
“I quote the last paragraph of the letter directed to the Minister: ‘We ask you to expedite your response before the upcoming caretaker period so that this significant regional project can commence and support the social and economic recovery of the region.’”
On 16 June 2020, the proposal was deemed a controlled action under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, so required a full EES statement. The scoping requirements were then released on 15 November 2020, six months after rather than the 15 days in the ministerial guidelines.
Between 26 November 2021 and January 25 2022, 2707 submissions were received. The Inquiry Hearing was held between 15 March and 7 April 2022, with a 40-day deadline for the response landing on 20 June 2022. No decision has been made.
A Victorian Government spokesperson said they thank the community for their input into the EES through the engagement process on the Warburton Mountain Bike Project.
“The assessment is under consideration by the Minister,” they said.
The EES process concludes when the Planning Minister issues an assessment of the project’s environmental effects.
The Minister’s assessment will inform decision-making on the various statutory approvals required for the project to proceed, including approvals under the Planning and Environment Act 1987, Aboriginal Heritage Act 2006, Water Act 1989, National Parks Act 1975 and Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.
