Kingston’s Green Wedge zone to expand under new plan

KINGSTON Council is one step closer to banning rubbish tips and concrete crushers on green wedge land.

n37ms320 The Green Wedge areas through Kingston have a variety of land use issues with market gardens, waste transfer and public parkland. (Boundary Road intersection looking north)

KINGSTON Council is one step closer to banning rubbish tips and concrete crushers on green wedge land.

The council has completed its community consultation on rezoning a section of the green wedge, and have voted to call on the Minister for Planning to appoint a panel to consider the changes.

Yet two key environmental agencies have raised concerns over the plans, saying rezoning would be a blow to the waste management industry.

Kingston mayor Geoff Gledhill said he was pleased landfill and concrete crushing was closer to being phased out in the Kingston Green Wedge.

“When I was elected mayor of Kingston I stated that seeing real progress on transitioning tip sites into public parks would be a key priority,” Cr Gledhill said.

“Broad agreement on this issue has existed within council for some time — the challenge has been to establish the best mechanism to ensure this outcome.”

The proposed change will rezone land outside the Urban Growth Boundary north of Kingston Rd and Heatherton Rd from a Special Use Zone Schedule 2 (Earth and Energy Resources Industry) to a Green Wedge A Zone.

“This change will allow the land, some of which is used for landfill sites, to transition to parks or more appropriate green wedge uses, which would reduce the negative impacts on surrounding residents caused by landfill sites,” Cr Gledhill said.

“It will also help stop any of the current landfill sites expanding, or extending their use beyond the existing lease periods.”

Kingston Council mayor Geoff Gledhill.

Council have sent more than 2300 letters to residents, businesses and interested parties to hear their views on the proposed Amendment C143 to the Kingston Planning Scheme.

More than 30 submissions were received, with almost half supporting the plan.

“Clearly there is not a lot of objection, with the vast majority of the Kingston community very supportive of council’s action to phase out landfill sites,” Cr Gledhill said.

But in a submission to the proposal, Sustainability Victoria chief executive Stan Krpan said the council needed to consider the impacts rezoning would have on the waste management industry.

“The area east of the proposed Dingley Bypass is key for the potential development of the resource recovery industry,” Mr Krpan said.

Environment Protection Authority Victoria’s southern metro manager Leigh Bryant also wrote to the council saying its proposal could create land use conflicts by allowing “sensitive land uses” within landfill or concrete crusher buffer zones.

But Cr Paul Peulich said there was already land use conflict, and the council’s plan would reduce that conflict.

“This is about convincing those agencies that don’t have local knowledge,” Cr Peulich said.