Bendigo Writers Festival

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.”

Rosemary Sorensen | Bendigo Weekly | 02-Aug-2012

You know the big names: Ita Buttrose, Don Watson, Gideon Haigh, Kerry Greenwood, Alex Miller, Margo Lanagan.
Now, here’s a few names you might not yet have heard about, or seen their books on the bookshelves: Sydney Smith, Paul D Carter, Paul Carter (they’re two different blokes!), Lisa Lang, Sulari Gentill.
Those are some of the newer writers coming to Bendigo Writers Festival next week. This is an excellent opportunity to discover some new reading.
Sydney Smith’s book, The Lost Woman, has only been out a month or two. It’s a memoir about growing up in Wellington, the daughter of a Maori mother and Pakeha father who filled her with such fear and anxiety, she heard voices in her head telling her to kill and maim and destroy.
Finally, there is light, when someone pays attention to a young woman so ill she had no hope for her future.
Ms Smith emigrated to Australia, and set up the Victorian Mentoring Service for Writers. She began to write essays and fiction, including a story which won the Age Short Story competition.
Writing The Lost Woman couldn’t have been easy: she’ll talk about why she decided to do it, and how she achieved it, on an extraordinary panel, “Mothers and Fathers”, on Sunday August 12 at 11.30am in the Bendigo Bank Theatre.
She’s alongside Tony Birch, whose memoir of growing up in Melbourne is just as harrowing, just as inspiring, and Paul D Carter, who has written about the legacy of a family secret in his award-winning Eleven Seasons.
After the schools’ day on Friday (which is booked out), there’s a dusk session in the Old Fire Station that kicks off the rest of the Festival.
“Next Gen” showcases our … ahem … next generation of writers, with Paul D Carter again, this time joined by Lisa Lang, the wonderful performance poet Emilie Zoey Baker, Bendigo post-grad and now Clunes denizen Stephen Samuel, and Bendigo Weekly’s sports-nut Joel Peterson.
That’s from 5pm to 6pm, and it’s included in your festival pass ($40/$35) or your Saturday pass ($24/$20).
Book at The Capital on 5434 6100, or at the Bendigo Writers Festival website.
If you have any queries about the festival, from ticketing to venues to how it all works, email us at bookclub@bendigoweekly.com.au, and we’ll try to help.
The Bendigo Weekly is proud to have worked alongside the City of Greater Bendigo council and La Trobe University, as a major sponsor, along with Bendigo TAFE, Bendigo Tourism, Telstra Business Centre Bendigo and The Wheeler Centre.