Across the Greater Bendigo municipality, there are a number of overlays that control the development allowable under certain conditions, such as areas with environmental value or high bushfire risk. Overlays that apply within the study area are specifically identified and discussed within Appendix 1 of this report. However, the general application of these overlays and their effect are considered below.

A number of key issues have been identified, including:

• The Bushfire Management Overlay) (BMO) currently is applied throughout Greater Bendigo and is particularly focused on bushland, forested and highly vegetated areas (noting that many of these areas are within State and National Parks, which are excluded from the scope of the RAS). However, large areas of rural land in Greater Bendigo are known to be subject to significant bushfire risk which are not currently covered by the BMO.
• Current strategic work is being undertaken assess bushfire risk and to consider low risk areas to enable us to understand where to direct growth
• The application of the Significant Landscape Overlay (SLO) within Greater Bendigo appears inconsistent. For example, it is applied to the eastern portion of Axedale where views extend out to the Hanson quarry. There are likely other areas within the municipality where it may be appropriate to apply the SLO elsewhere.
• There is a misalignment between the application of the Environmental Significance Overlay (ESO) and the declared special water supply catchment area of Lake Eppalock.
• There are instances where up to three ESO schedules apply to the same location within the supply catchment area. It should be considered whether this level of control is necessary in these areas.
• The Land Subject to Inundation Overlay (LSIO) appears to be incomplete in the northern region of the municipality along Bendigo Creek. The overlay ends abruptly, and further work may need to be undertaken to determine areas beyond this that may be flood prone.

A number of opportunities have been identified, including:

• Broadly assess the application of the ESO around Lake Eppalock and determine whether it should specifically align with the declared Special Water Supply Catchment Area (SWSCA).
• Generally, review the application of the ESO and specific policy controls, particularly where multiple ESOs are applied to the same land.
• Update ESO1 and consider encouraging the creation of biolinks along waterways and wetlands, to buffer from the effects of agricultural practices. Consider extending ESO1 over all waterways.
• Broadly review the existing ESO1 which applies to significant waterways through Greater Bendigo with a 50 metre buffer. In this context it is noted a permit is already triggered for buildings and works within the Farming Zone where the setback is within 100 metres of a waterway. Accordingly, there is an opportunity to align the permit triggers more appropriately between the zone and the overlay to better manage water quality.
• The Restructure Overlay applies to a number of rural localities around Greater Bendigo including Kamarooka, Ravenswood and Neilborough. There is an opportunity to review the effectiveness of these, whether they are still up to date and whether they should be applied to other rural settlements within the municipality.
• It is understood that the bushfire management overlay is currently under review for the area. There is an opportunity to leverage this and consider the management of bushfire in finer detail for rural locations in addition to settlements.

A number of potential strategies have been identified, including:

• Review the extent and application of the ESO.
• Continue to undertake targeted flood studies throughout the municipality to ensure that changing conditions are understood
• Review the application and extent of the RO.
• Apply the BMO to address any recommendations of separate bushfire risk work currently being undertaken.