Beijing Boom
BENDIGO’S residential Strategy will be reviewed because of greater than expected growth.
The State Government has announced a grant of $50,000 to carry out the review.
The review is needed because, according to the State Government, 40 per cent of the forecast growth between 2006 and 2031 had already been realised.
Regional Development Parliamentary Secretary Damian Drum made the announcement this morning.
Mr Drum said the Bendigo Residential Strategy Review would deliver greater community and investor certainty, helping the region grow.
“The Bendigo Residential Development Strategy was adopted in 2004 and is currently being audited because of the faster than anticipated growth that has occurred in Bendigo in recent years,” he said.
“Strong residential growth has many flow-on economic benefits and having a clear framework for future development will position Greater Bendigo City Council to undertake more detailed, place-based planning in the future.”
Deputy Premier Peter Ryan said about 40 per cent of the forecast growth between 2006 and 2031 had already been realised.
The Residential Strategy impacts directly on where and how property developments use “infill” parcels of land, range of housing styles and also on housing affordability.
“This project will review the strategy, assess current and estimated land supply and demand and consider various legislative and policy changes,” Mr Ryan said,
“It will also consider the latest demographic data and establish a new strategic framework to guide the long-term residential growth of Greater Bendigo.
“The project will result in a revised residential strategy that will give developers, the community and service providers greater surety and confidence about where land can be developed for residential purposes, and that sufficient land is available to accommodate the City of Greater Bendigo’s future growth.”
Mr Ryan said a contemporary strategic planning framework was essential to the economic development of a large regional centre like Bendigo.
“Clearly identifying future growth options and supporting infrastructure needs will enable the Greater Bendigo City Council and other infrastructure providers to plan their capital works programs well in advance,” he said.
“Identifying long-term growth areas will enable the council and other service authorities to start planning for the delivery of services, thereby minimising the lag time between when residential development occurs and when the services need to be in place.”
| Bendigo Weekly | 10-Jun-2011 3.16
Sometimes it’s fun to stumble upon art unexpectedly, with no expectations.
Actually, it’s the best way.
I was at Latrobe VAC attending a talk about something else when a screen caught my eye, en route to the buffet.
Instead of yacking to others who were also there to listen to artists yacking about their work, I stood munching through the contents of my plate with my eNo fixed to a screen that had some very weird creatures running all over it.
Little cartoon figures jogged through a colourful, 2D animated landscape.
First they had heads made out of bottoms (I think they were supposed to be pears), then they became rockets farting fire and smoke at each other as they rose into the sky. It was very funny.
Two of them even kissed! (Pears & Aliens, 2008).
Next came another animation where the figures had Rubik’s Cubes for heads and played table tennis. (Magic Cube & Ping Pong, 2010).
They seemed to be trapped in some kind of industrialised computer game dystopia – think Fritz Lang’s Metropolis meets 70s video-game Pong.
There’s a neat reference to Pink Floyd’s The Wall in there as well.
The storyline eventually transforms when two of these creatures meet and fall in love. Both films are by Chinese animator, Ray Lei, a favorite of international film festivals as it turns out.
They’re part of an exhibition called Arena: A Post Boom Beijing, described in the catalogue as “a survey of contemporary documentaries and video from China’s cultural capital Beijing”.
Curated by artist Dr Laurens Tan, the exhibition offers “views of a society undergoing a frenzy of change since the 2008 Olympics and the Global Financial Crisis”.
It does indeed.
I managed to recruit some others to come look too. Soon three of us stood side by side in front of a row of TV monitors that held further video riches.
Beijing Ballet (2010) by Lismore-born Allan Chawner was a gorgeous exercise in juxtaposition.
An urban street scene on a busy Beijing corner is captured at night on HD video.
People and traffic of all description bustle in and out of the frame.
The genius is in the soundtrack.
The busyness of the images is counteracted by lilting classical music, Debussy’s very recognisable Clair de Lune.
Everyone/thing in the frame dances to the rhythm of not the street, rather the ballet.
The music overlays an organic feel, as if the pictures are choreographed, moving to chaos, surrounded by concrete, pollution and the ceaseless pulse of city-life.
You feel calm watching it.
But Chi-3 (2008) by Nan Hao was the superstar of the show.
Part of the joy of watching it lay in the naughtiness.
It is an act of defiance; a video with a rebel yell at its heart.
A lone man walks into traffic and slowly performs a Tai Chi pose.
Plenty of horns honking. Plenty of cars zooming by, and this guy – with nerves of steel – holds his pose regardless, moving only occasionally.
It reminded me of the man in front of the tanks at Tiananmen Square, and Moses parting the Red Sea.
We witness the artist making his point. Perfectly. Sometimes it is possible to hold back the tide – if you have the courage of your convictions.
What great work. And there’s lots more on show too.
We all left happy we had seen such interesting and entertaining work on a Saturday night, when we could have been at home watching, oh I dunno, the footy, The Fattest Loser or Master Dorks or something…
Arena: A Post Boom Beijing curated by Laurens Tan finishes this weekend at Latrobe Visual Arts Centre. 121 View Street, Bendigo, open 10am to 5pm.
BENDIGO’S residential Strategy will be reviewed because of greater than expected growth.
The State Government has announced a grant of $50,000 to carry out the review.
The review is needed because, according to the State Government, 40 per cent of the forecast growth between 2006 and 2031 had already been realised.
Regional Development Parliamentary Secretary Damian Drum made the announcement this morning.
Mr Drum said the Bendigo Residential Strategy Review would deliver greater community and investor certainty, helping the region grow.
“The Bendigo Residential Development Strategy was adopted in 2004 and is currently being audited because of the faster than anticipated growth that has occurred in Bendigo in recent years,” he said.
“Strong residential growth has many flow-on economic benefits and having a clear framework for future development will position Greater Bendigo City Council to undertake more detailed, place-based planning in the future.”
Deputy Premier Peter Ryan said about 40 per cent of the forecast growth between 2006 and 2031 had already been realised.
The Residential Strategy impacts directly on where and how property developments use “infill” parcels of land, range of housing styles and also on housing affordability.
“This project will review the strategy, assess current and estimated land supply and demand and consider various legislative and policy changes,” Mr Ryan said,
“It will also consider the latest demographic data and establish a new strategic framework to guide the long-term residential growth of Greater Bendigo.
“The project will result in a revised residential strategy that will give developers, the community and service providers greater surety and confidence about where land can be developed for residential purposes, and that sufficient land is available to accommodate the City of Greater Bendigo’s future growth.”
Mr Ryan said a contemporary strategic planning framework was essential to the economic development of a large regional centre like Bendigo.
“Clearly identifying future growth options and supporting infrastructure needs will enable the Greater Bendigo City Council and other infrastructure providers to plan their capital works programs well in advance,” he said.
“Identifying long-term growth areas will enable the council and other service authorities to start planning for the delivery of services, thereby minimising the lag time between when residential development occurs and when the services need to be in place.”
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