Artwork by Anna McIldowie. Humour by Friends of Lorne
Should Friends of Lorne be engaged in reviewing residential planning applications? Lorne has a Neighbourhood Character Overlay which in theory, the Council uses to knock back planning proposals that are too bulky, take up too much of the block, are too high or remove too much vegetation. In practice, they rely on the number of objections as a guide to community tolerance of development that is out-of-character with the recessive coastal vibe.
The trouble is, neighbours are often loathe to object, even if they want to. So Friends of Lorne is giving consideration to reviewing every planning application. As these articles explain, our main interest is the preservation of native vegetation, wildlife corridors, and built form which is recessive in the landscape. We want to see better compliance across Lorne with the Neighbourhood Character Overlay.
What do you think? Let us know at committee@friendsoflorne.org.au. Our neighbouring town organisation, the Aireys Inlet and District Association, has been doing it for years with a high degree of community support. But it would be a new step for us and not without a downside. We have put in three planning application objections just to test our capacity and gain some insights. One in a tourist zone. One in a residential zone. One in a Rural Conservation Zone. In two cases, we were supporting neighbours who worked with us and also put in objections. In one case we put in an objection after a neighbour said that he didn’t like what he saw in the planning application but he was “too old to fight”. Our experience so far is written up as part of the President’s report to the 2024 AGM. Thanks to the Friends of Lorne members who are architects and planners. That helped a lot.