Roger Waters: The Wall live

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.”

Jake Schatz | Bendigo Weekly | 16-Feb-2012 10.30am

Waters recreated the Pink Floyd sound he made famous.

If there is a band before my time that I desperately wish I could have seen, it would be Pink Floyd.

So I was never going to miss an opportunity to see Roger Waters perform The Wall at Rod Laver Arena last week.

With the hype, and more importantly the man behind the production, I knew it was going to be special.

With a touring band of greats from Snowy White to Dave Kilminster and Roger’s son Harry Waters, the music was majestic, melodious and a near perfect recreation of Pink Floyd’s sound.

While the music was amazing it was the production that really floored me.

The performance featured a jet plane crashing through the top of the wall amid fireworks in the opener In The Flesh, a synced performance of Mother between the Roger of now and the projection of the Roger of 32 years ago, and a staple Pink Floyd feature: a giant remote controlled pig that hovered above the audience. And then the centrepiece, a gigantic wall that was built around the performers, brick by brick, from the start of Another Brick In The Wall Part I.

Projected onto the bricks were the heart-wrenching photos of thousands of people who had lost their lives as a result of the war, from soldiers to civilians including women and children.

Waters put the last brick in the wall with Goodbye Cruel World, and the show went to intermission.

The second half of the show was performed in front of the wall and featured a fold out lounge room for Nobody’s Home, an epic performance of Bring The Boys Back Home, and an incredibly accurate recreation of Gilmour’s legendary solo in Comfortably Numb; hats off to Kilminster who performed it on top of the wall in the spotlight.

The performance peaked with Waters taking refuge under the stage amid shouts of “Tear Down The Wall” in The Trial.

Finally, the monolithic wall tumbled down and the musicians appeared in front of it for the clincher Outside The Wall and a rather unexpected performance of Waltzing Matilda- Waters’ way of thanking the audience.

Roger Waters put on a rare show that wouldn’t fail to impress the harshest of critics. A performance like no other, I would highly recommend the show to anyone lucky enough to have it playing in a city near them.