Subdivision of rural land can be proposed for many reasons, including consolidation of parcels, realigning boundaries to enable the transfer of a portion of land, excision of a dwelling or the division of a lot into one or more smaller lots. A planning permit is always required for subdivision and decision makers must consider the cumulative effects of allowing potential fragmentation of land.

A number of key issues have been identified, including:

• Farming Zone (FZ) land is already highly fragmented within Greater Bendigo due to old subdivisions, particularly land to the west of the municipality and surrounding townships.
• Fragmentation can lead to the loss of productive agricultural land, increase land prices, and deter investment in agricultural growth.
• Having a minimum lot size of 8 hectares for subdivision in the FZ Schedule 2 threatens the continued operation of agricultural uses as smaller allotments may increase the likelihood of additional small dwellings appearing in the area as the argument could be made that the land size cannot sustain agricultural use in accordance with the decision guidelines in Clause 35.07-6.
• Pressure for the subdivision within the FZ appears to be emerging in higher amenity/attractive landscape areas. This could be an indication Rural Living Zone (RLZ) land in high amenity areas is not currently available, leading to pressure on Farming zoned land.

A number of opportunities have been identified, including:

• Introduce a minimum 100ha subdivision size of the FZ (as a noted increase over the default 40ha minimum), which has been used elsewhere to reduce subdivision potential and demand.
• The existing diverse range of lots sizes throughout the municipality can accommodate differing forms of agriculture negating the need for further subdivision.
• Recent Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) cases, indicate that Greater Bendigo’s Local Planning Policy is functioning well overall to prevent the approvals of subdivisions and dwellings when a case is determined at VCAT. There is an opportunity to further improve this policy with a view to reducing the number of applications which are appealed.
• Provide clear directional policy around existing settlements that are within the FZ and state whether growth is appropriate or not supported.

A number of potential strategies have been identified, including:

• Implement a new/updated Local Planning Policy for rural subdivision to provide guidance and clarity on when rural subdivision is acceptable, and to be underpinned by updated agricultural land class mapping (being prepared as part of the current RAS work).
• Review existing policy within Clause 14.01-1L to strengthen and provide more directive policy for subdivision.
• Review the minimum subdivision sizes across rural zones with due consideration of Planning Practice Note 42: Applying the Rural Zones.
• Update local planning policy to provide specific contextual guidance on appropriate uses and developments in locations such as Sebastian, Neilborough, Ravenswood, Fosterville and Redcastle.
• Update existing zoning in smaller settlement areas to designate areas for further development of agri-tourism uses, where appropriate.
• Provide clear policy direction that past subdivision and development approvals does not provide suitable justification for the approval of future permit applications, which need to be careful considered against the current RAS and individual merit of site context and surround.