By Alesha Capone
A report has recommended the state government consider bringing forward the acquisition of 15,000 hectares of land to create a conservation area stretching from the You Yangs to Werribee River.
In 2019, the Victorian Parliament agreed to establish an inquiry into environmental infrastructure needed for areas of growing populations, particularly parks and open space.
The Legislative Assembly’s Environment and Planning Committee delivered their report on the topic during February 2022.
During its community consultation for the report, the committee heard from representatives of both Wyndham and Melton councils who were concerned about the delayed delivery of the Western Grassland Reserve (WGR).
Ten years ago, the state government began reserving 15,000 hectares of land to protect the critically endangered natural temperate grasslands of the Victorian Volcanic Plain, which provides a habitat for 65 nationally threatened species and 173 threatened species.
The state government said the land would become a grassland conservation park around Mount Cottrell and north of Little River, to be known as the WGR.
The WGR will be mostly located in Wyndham but includes 1500 hectares within Melton.
Several stakeholders have expressed concern about the delay in the establishment of the WGR under, according to the Environment and Planning Committee report.
In its submission to the committee, Wyndham council stated that the proposed WGR “was a key mechanism established to offset the biodiversity losses associated with urban development and to protect critically endangered grasslands”.
“Although the reserve was to be delivered in 2020, as of April 2020 less than fifteen percent of the reserve has been secured and there is significant concern that the biodiversity values on the remaining private lands within the reserve area are in decline,” the council’s submission stated.
Melton council’s planning and development general manager Luke Shannon said that the council would certainly urge for the 15,000 hectares “to be acquired at the earliest opportunity”.
“Unfortunately only a quite small portion has been acquired to date, and the area is degrading quite significantly,” he said.
The report recommended: “That Victorian Government consider bringing forward the acquisition of the 15,000 hectares of land identified for the Western Grassland Reserve, along with interim acquisition targets”.
