Relief as blocks moved from bushfire ‘ban’ zone

THE State Government has cut the building red tape for almost 500 urban lots in Casey by removing them from the bushfire prone area mapping.
Planning Minister Matthew Guy last week approved updates to the Bushfire Prone Area (BPA) maps for 26 local government areas, which remove a total of 7549 properties from the BPA maps.
The councils with the largest number of urban lots removed included Greater Geelong with 1652, Bass Coast with 805 lots, Hume with 688 lots and Casey with 458 lots.
Mr Guy said a $24 million red tape saving for landowners had been achieved following the review of the maps.
“We are removing unnecessary red tape for landowners, and removing the cost burden of complying with these regulations,” he said.
“This is part of our ongoing efforts to reduce the compliance burden for families and builders. It complements our recently announced reforms to the Bushfire Management Overlay, which will be implemented in coming weeks.”
The estimated regulatory savings are $3200 per lot for the affected property owners.
The BPA mapping criteria will soon be published online, to provide greater transparency for the building sector.