Introduction Terms of Reference The Minister for Planning appointed an Advisory Committee (the Committee) under Section 151 of the Planning and Environment Act 1987 on 4 October 2015 to consider planning around Major Hazard Facilities (MHF). The appointed members are Nick Wimbush (Chair), Chris Harty and Catherine Wilson. Terms of Reference (TOR) dated 24 September 2015 (shown in Appendix A) was provided to the Committee that outlined its task including: … provide advice to the Minister for Planning about improvements to land use planning for areas surrounding major hazard facilities (MHF), in order to better manage the interface areas between existing and new development and land used for MHF. And to make recommendations on: Issues to be addressed for each of Victoria’s 40 registered MHF and principles about how the land use planning system can assist in managing risks and any adverse impacts and principles for applying land use buffers more broadly to other uses with adverse amenity potential. Following early approaches from industry and interest groups, the Committee agreed to accept and consider submissions on high pressure hydrocarbon transmission pipelines as it was put to the Committee that some of the planning framework for MHF may also be relevant to these critical pieces of linear infrastructure. The Process The process for the Committee is set out in the TOR. The Committee undertook the following tasks: Early consultation with nominated parties in the TOR (shown in Appendix B) Preparation and release of a Discussion Paper for public submissions (submitters listed in Appendix C) Hearings held on 17, 21-24 March 2016 and a Hearing/‘without prejudice’ workshop held on 2 May 2016 Preparation of this final report for the Minister for Planning. The Discussion Paper was released for public consultation from 22 December 2015 to 9 February 2016. The Discussion Paper focused on a range of issues including the current planning system; safety and environment (including legislation, publications and guidelines); Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) decisions and Panel Reports. It included ‘thought starters’ which addressed issues such as hazards, risk and consequence; adverse amenity; sensitive uses; and the planning issues around MHF and pipelines and navigating the system.
Introduction Terms of Reference The Minister for Planning appointed an Advisory Committee (the Committee) under Section 151 of the Planning and Environment Act 1987 on 4 October 2015 to consider planning around Major Hazard Facilities (MHF). The appointed members are Nick Wimbush (Chair), Chris Harty and Catherine Wilson. Terms of Reference (TOR) dated 24 September 2015 (shown in Appendix A) was provided to the Committee that outlined its task including: … provide advice to the Minister for Planning about improvements to land use planning for areas surrounding major hazard facilities (MHF), in order to better manage the interface areas between existing and new development and land used for MHF. And to make recommendations on: Issues to be addressed for each of Victoria’s 40 registered MHF and principles about how the land use planning system can assist in managing risks and any adverse impacts and principles for applying land use buffers more broadly to other uses with adverse amenity potential. Following early approaches from industry and interest groups, the Committee agreed to accept and consider submissions on high pressure hydrocarbon transmission pipelines as it was put to the Committee that some of the planning framework for MHF may also be relevant to these critical pieces of linear infrastructure. The Process The process for the Committee is set out in the TOR. The Committee undertook the following tasks: Early consultation with nominated parties in the TOR (shown in Appendix B) Preparation and release of a Discussion Paper for public submissions (submitters listed in Appendix C) Hearings held on 17, 21-24 March 2016 and a Hearing/‘without prejudice’ workshop held on 2 May 2016 Preparation of this final report for the Minister for Planning. The Discussion Paper was released for public consultation from 22 December 2015 to 9 February 2016. The Discussion Paper focused on a range of issues including the current planning system; safety and environment (including legislation, publications and guidelines); Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) decisions and Panel Reports. It included ‘thought starters’ which addressed issues such as hazards, risk and consequence; adverse amenity; sensitive uses; and the planning issues around MHF and pipelines and navigating the system.