BendigoWeekly www.bendigoweekly.com
ISSUE 1120 FRIDAY, MAY 10, 2019
Celebrating heritage ON Saturday, Bendigo’s iconic heritage attractions will be on show for the second year as the city presents Heritage Unwrapped. It’s a celebration of the National Trusts’ Australian Heritage Festival. – Story Page 6.
DREAM BIG Photo: ANTHONY WEBSTER
By PETER KENNEDY
TWO prominent Bendigo businessmen have called for a dramatic rethink of the region’s planning and development policies, as the city continues to boom towards becoming a sprawling community of more than 200,000 by 2050. Former Bendigo Bank and Coliban Water director Don Erskine and strategic transport planner Trevor Phillips have proposed a radical series of employment zones on the fringes of Bendigo, serviced by a net-
■ Bendigo
Radical plan for Bendigo’s road to 2050
work of new and upgraded roads as part of a proposal that the pair admit will create controversy and emotions, but more importantly, should also spark debate about Bendigo’s future growth. The pair want planners to consider a polycentric model where independent self-contained suburbs similar to Canberra could be developed at Maiden Gully, Strath-
fieldsaye and Marong, with further expansion north of Huntly to be discouraged because of perceived concerns about flooding and inadequate transport infrastructure. They also believe a network of employment areas could eventually be established at Ravenswood, Huntly, Eaglehawk/Myers Flat, the Calder Alternate/Bendigo Marybourough Road to include the exist-
Writers Festival revealed – Page 11
ing poultry area, in Strathfieldsaye and at Axedale. Expansion into Ravenswood is seen as desirable, provided land capability studies identify the land as being suitable for urban uses. Equally, Lockwood and Lockwood South could be considered for urban growth, and under this strategy, smaller settlements of up to 10,000 people could be considered
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for Axedale, Goornong and Elmore. Mr Phillips said present day planning policy for urban growth is based on a centralist model that promotes the CBD and promotes incremental growth around the existing urban zones. “This could easily lead to all the bad features associated with urban congestion as seen in larger cities such as Sydney and Melbourne, and also fails to recognize the dramatic changes introduced to the retail sector, for example, with the digital age. Continued Page 7
Property Guide inside