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Mitchell Shire Council is proposing to impose new Significant Landscape Overlays (SLOs) that will affect more than 400 properties, and almost 10% of the land in the Mitchell Shire, with 94% zoned “Farming”.
These SLOs will impose new restrictions on farmers, adding burdensome bureaucracy, increased costs, and other potentially serious negative and unintended consequences.
A Significant Landscape Overlay (SLO) is the planning tool used by Victorian councils for protecting and managing significant landscapes. Its stated purpose is to identify significant landscapes, and conserve and enhance their character.
A significant landscape is defined by the Victorian government[1] as one that is ‘special or important due to its cultural landscape values, including aesthetic values (both visual and non-visual), historic, environmental, scientific, social, or other values.’
This is open to subjective interpretation and doesn’t specifically consider agricultural land use.
Council undertook a Landscape Assessment Survey (LAS), prepared by an independent expert Claire Scott which determined the areas of the proposed SLOs and the nature of the permit requirements. A primary concern is that Ms Scott’s methodologies have been severely questioned by other Victorian Planning Panel Hearings.
On 19 August 2024 Council voted 4-3 to endorse the LAS and proceed with preparing documentation to implement the Study into the Mitchell Planning Scheme, albeit with several (in our view inadequate) modifications to address our concerns.
We are also deeply concerned about the Council’s process to introduce the new SLOs. It has been acknowledged by current Councillors as flawed, the communication of the SLOs has been ineffective and misleading, and the consultation process has been biased towards known interest groups, with farmer groups (including the Victorian Farmers Federation and Landcare) excluded.
The process to amend the Mitchell Planning Scheme will be lengthy and will include an Independent Review and Victoria Planning Panel hearing for any objections which are not resolved by Council.
Council has added extra steps including a “benchmarking study” and “impact assessment”. We are concerned that the process will take years, absorbing endless time and scarce resources.