I SEE RED
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.”
Anthony Radford | Bendigo Weekly | 05-Aug-2011 4.52
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Silk gauze dress, 1938. Worn by Monica Maurice for her marriage to Dr Arthur Newton Jackson at the Chapel of Our Lady in Rotheram, Yorkshire. Given by the family of Monica Maurice. ©Victoria and Albert Museum / V&A Images
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THERE I was, crammed into Bendigo Art Gallery last Saturday with about a zillion others, at the Grand Opening of the sure-to-be-biggest-thing-since-sliced-bread White Wedding Dress Exhibition.
And there we were, listening to speeches about the artistic, fashion and historical significance of the white wedding dress from a myriad of dignitaries, fashionistas and art folk.
And there I was, watching everyone smiling in agreement about just how important that one white dress is to a girl, on that one day in her life…
Gulp.
White wedding dresses traumatise me.
The thought of fluffy white tulle fills me with dread.
Earlier this year I got married – but managed to avoid ‘all that’ – choosing an off-the-rack black and red number, that more mirrored one of the ‘bordello ladies’ in From Here to Eternity, than anything remotely on display in those glass cases.
While loving every minute of our nuptials and wedding festival – and it was! – I oh-so resented the amount of pressure that bubbled up from the bowels of the earth every time the words ‘wedding dress’ were uttered within earshot.
For an ex-tomboy who never thought she’d get married, it was a bit much.
Don’t get me wrong. I love a wedding, but being a bride – whoa Nelly!
Amid my panic and rising sense of disconnection, I wandered around this exquisitely-mounted exhibit (and it is – it goes on for miles too), staring somewhat blankly at the couture, and reading (with interest) the info plaques that went with it.
Then… There she was. My get-out-of-jail-free card: the RED WEDDING DRESS.
Finally I’d stumbled upon a like-minded soul whose wedding dress also represented passion, colour, a free spirit and a wee bit of subversion.
Plus she could wear the thing again after it was ‘all over red rover’!
And what a rebel this lady was.
I stared with relief at a “ruby-coloured silk-gauze mid-calf dress” worn by one Monica Maurice who married in South Yorkshire, England in 1938.
According to the catalogue notes, Ms Maurice was “an independent, unconventional woman” with a “passion for racing cars and flying”, and “until 1978” was the only “woman member of the Association of Mining Electrical Engineers”.
My kinda lady!
It turned out I wasn’t the only person in the room panicking - the conversations I heard around this exhibition were priceless.
Everyone has a wedding story – in the end the the genius of the show is its universality.
The best I heard was from a woman who was becoming traumatised by Bendigo’s op shops.
So far she’d seen the exact same dress she’d worn to her own ceremony, ‘remaindered’ in not one but three.
She didn’t know whether to feel flattered or battered.
The real triumph though is how our community is embracing the exhibition.
The Meadow Boutique opposite the Bendigo Art Gallery is displaying a stellar white dress covered in cheeky texta grafitti.
But Bob’s Boutique takes the (wedding) cake so far.
Looming large over the northern end of Williamson Street, owner Sonia Brit has mounted a giant plush bunny head atop the hand-stitched quilted dress she wore to her own wedding.
It’s front and centre in her window, a scene from Donnie Darko if ever there was one.
So Bendigo, the gauntlet has been thrown down.
I’m looking forward to seeing how you interpret the White Wedding Dress on the streets. Hopefully there’ll be plenty of red…
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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