REASONS FOR DECISION TO EXERCISE POWER OF
INTERVENTION
UNDER SECTION 20(4) OF THE PLANNING AND
ENVIRONMENT ACT 1987
CASEY PLANNING SCHEME AMENDMENT C201
The Planning and Environment Act 1987 (the Act), the Heritage Act 1995 and the
Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 1998 provide for the intervention of the
Minister for Planning in planning and heritage processes.
In exercising my powers of intervention, I have agreed to:

Make publicly available written reasons for each decision; and

Provide a report to Parliament at least every twelve months detailing the nature of
each intervention.
REQUEST FOR INTERVENTION
1.
This amendment has been made at the request of Casey City Council.
2.
On 2 September 2014 Casey City Council requested that the Minister prepare, adopt
and approve Amendment C201 to the Casey Planning Scheme in order to insert a
new incorporated document so that the $125 million Casey Cultural Precinct is
developed and delivered in a streamlined manner.
WHAT POWER OF INTERVENTION IS BEING USED?
2.
I have decided to exercise my powers to exempt myself from all the requirements of
sections 17, 18 and 19 of the Act and the regulations in respect to Amendment C201
to the Casey Planning Scheme.
3.
Section 20(4) of the Act enables the Minister for Planning to exempt an amendment
which the Minister prepares from any of the requirements of sections 17, 18 and 19
of the Act or the regulations.
4.
In seeking to exercise this power, section 20(4) of the Act requires that the Minister
must consider that compliance with any of those requirements is not warranted or
that the interests of Victoria or any part of Victoria make such an exemption
appropriate.
BACKGROUND
5.
City of Casey is committed to the development of a new cultural, community and civic
precinct adjacent to Fountain Gate in Narre Warren. The Casey Cultural Precinct will
be one of the largest projects undertaken by local government in Victoria and will be
an innovative multi-purpose facility, combining cultural, community and civic
amenities under one roof.
6.
The $125 million project is expected to create 1,200 jobs during construction and will
help to attract over 2 million visitors to the broader precinct each year. Construction
of the Casey Cultural Precinct is expected to commence in late 2015.
7.
Throughout 2013 and 2014 Casey City Council has undertaken community
consultation on the Casey Cultural Precinct project.
8.
Specific initiatives include, the creation and management of a dedicated website,
telephone and on-line surveys, a number of community briefing and consultation
sessions, focus groups, various community events and a formal display of the project
in the council offices foyer over a lengthy period.
9.
Council has also consulted with numerous politicians, authorities, organisations and
stakeholders including, State and Federal Members of Parliament and senior
Ministers; Major Projects Victoria; Metropolitan Planning Authority; Office of the
Victorian Government Architect; Arts Victoria; Green Building Council of Australia; the
YMCA; and relevant service authorities.
10. Council has obtained the explicit support of VicRoads and the Returned and Services
League in relation to traffic management and heritage matters respectively.
11. The use and development of land for the Casey Cultural Precinct project are both ‘asof-right’ within the current Public Use Zone. The amendment will enable various
‘peripheral’ planning matters to be dealt with in a holistic and logical way, such that
the project can be facilitated in a timely manner, in accordance with community
needs and expectations.
12. A new incorporated document titled “Casey Cultural Precinct Incorporated Plan,
August 2014” in the Schedule to Clause 52.03 and the Schedule to Clause 81.01 to
allow land identified in the incorporated document to be used and developed for the
purposes of the Casey Cultural Precinct subject to conditions will give effect to the
above.
BENEFITS OF EXEMPTION
13. The amendment will facilitate the development of a large civic, cultural and
community centre that will benefit the Casey community and the broader surrounding
region. In this way, the amendment is consistent with the objectives of planning in
Victoria as set out in section 4 of the Planning and Environment Act 1987.
14. The exemption allows for a site specific control to be introduced into the planning
scheme without delay, to permit the use and development of the Casey Cultural
Precinct project on the subject site, subject to the conditions in the incorporated
document.
EFFECTS OF EXEMPTION ON THIRD PARTIES
15. The effects of exempting the amendment from the requirements of sections 17, 18
and 19 of the Act and the regulations is that third parties will not be notified of the
proposed amendment, nor will they be provided with an opportunity to make formal
submissions in relation to the amendments or to have those submissions considered
by a Panel.
16. The proposed amendment does not relate to the fundamental use of the Casey
Cultural Precinct building or to its construction (both of which are 'as-of-right' under
the Public Use Zone). Rather, the amendment relates to largely technical matters
that are peripheral to the main development. These matters can reasonably be
considered without normal notice requirements.
ASSESSMENT AS TO WHETHER BENEFITS OF EXEMPTIONS OUTWEIGH
EFFECTS ON THIRD PARTIES
17. Given the extensive informal community consultation that has taken place from 2013,
the views of numerous government agencies and authorities, community
organisations and stakeholders are known.
18. Amendment C201 is limited in its effect and it will not unreasonably impact on nearby
owners and occupiers, and therefore compliance with the requirements under
sections 17, 18 and 19 of the Act and regulations is not considered to be warranted.
19. The amendment’s limited impact is supported by VicRoads’ statement that the
“surrounding road network and intersections would only encounter a relatively minor
increase in traffic volume from the proposed Casey Cultural Precent and would
continue to function with acceptable operating conditions”. Furthermore, “the
proposed development would not create a need for mitigating road improvement
works”.
20. The use and development of the intended Casey Cultural Precinct building is allowed
'as-of-right' in the Scheme. The practical effect of the exemption on third parties is
therefore limited to the ability of those parties to make submissions in relation to
matters that are generally technical in nature and that are peripheral to the main
development. In this context, the effect on third parties is no more than minor.
21. Accordingly I consider that the benefits of exempting myself from sections 17, 18 and
19 of the Act outweigh any effects of the exemption on third parties.
DECISION
22. I have decided to exercise my power to exempt myself from all the requirements of
sections 17, 18 and 19 of the Act and the regulations in respect of Amendment C201
to the Casey Planning Scheme.
REASONS FOR INTERVENTION
23. I provide the following reasons for my decision to exercise my power under section
20(4) of the Act.
24. I am satisfied that compliance with any of the requirements of sections 17, 18 and 19
of the Act and the regulations is not warranted because:
 extensive community consultation has been carried out by Casey City Council,
and the usual public processes set out in the Act would be unlikely to result in
any significantly different or improved outcomes.
SIGNED BY THE MINISTER
MATTHEW GUY MLC
Minister for Planning
Date: 21 October 2014