Failure of an outer Melbourne council to act on Green Wedges protection is stopping agriculture in the region, says the head of one of the area's community groups.
The Eastern Dandenong Ranges Association (EDRA) chairman John Wall, Emersleigh Estate vineyard, Emerald said he was concerned Cardinia Shire council's failure to act on Green Wedge protections could lead to dormitory towns, empty paddocks and "gullies filled with vermin".
"The lack of planning has already devastated the area - if you look at what we had previously, especially up in the Gembrook area, the level of agriculture has diminished to one-20th of what it was," he said.
"After 20 years, there is only one potato grower left out of 20."
The shire found in 1995 Gembrook alone produced 10,000 tonnes of potatoes, covering 400 hectares of land at any given time.
It follows recent amendments to the Planning Act mandating councils must prepare Green Wedge management plans.
Mr Wall said in contrast to Cardinia, Yarra Ranges shire had been able to use the Green Wedge designation to their advantage.
"There is a lot of vacant land and nothing been done," he said.
"If you compare that to Yarra Ranges, you look at the number of horticultural and grazing properties, as well as vineyards, it far outweighs what we have in Cardinia at present - when you look at the land itself, its still really good farming land."
He accused Cardinia of not being "proactive" enough from 2003, when Green Wedges legislation was introduced to cover the Yarra Valley, Dandenong Ranges and northern hills of Cardinia shire.
"The only time they [Cardinia] have done any Green Wedge legislation was in the Koo Wee Rup area, about 10 years ago - that was a case of 'we've got this money, how are we going to spend it?
Mr Wall said a lot of agricultural land in the eastern ranges "was just barren.
"The families that had these large agricultural businesses, previously, have parcelled off parts of that land and subdivided them," he said.
"If there isn't planning as to how the land is going to be utilised you are going to get a lot of pushback in future years from the small landholders about some of the usage of things like sprays."
Without certainty, farmers could not invest in new enterprises, or follow the lead of Yarra Ranges farmers, in going into such things as grapes, berries or orcharding.
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Other primary producers, living in Green Wedge zones, have called for more flexibility.
Orchardist Kevin Sanders, Three Bridges, says the Yarra Ranges council is currently trying to close down a dirt bike race track on his property because it was not permitted under Green Wedge rules.
"The first race was in 1983, the council has now prohibited us from having any more races until we establish we had prior use," he said.
He said while it was not direct agricultural use, the motocross track had no impact on his orchard business and it was a symptom of the restrictive rules governing Green Wedges.
"What happens if I have a winery and want to put a restaurant on it ? I can't do that, because it's in a Green Wedge," he said.
"I need to accommodate workers, but I can't build an accommodation on my property, because it's against the law - so where to we get accommodation?"
He said there was a push towards "value add - but if you've turned something commercial on your property, which is not part of your original agricultural purpose, then there is a big deal about it."
Restrictions meant land ended up being turned into hobby farms.
"They buy 20-40 acres and stick a $1.5million house on it, and its never going to go back to agriculture, never," he said.
"If they want to improve agriculture, why don't they sit down and talk to the farmers about what they would like to have happen?"
Sunbury's John Lakey runs a community-supported agriculture business with wife Tristia, selling beef, sheep and goat meat, as well as wine.
Mr Lakey said plans for a boutique abattoir, in the area, had been knocked back by Hume City council.
He had also been thinking about setting up "village" type housing, with individual residences, on the former 223-hectare soldier settler block.
He said he had thought about creating building a small residential village where people could live and use the rest of the land for agriculture.
"It could become a really fine example of what you could do with farmland," he said.
It would maintain the "visual amenity" of the area, while allowing agriculture to continue.
But he abandoned the idea, after realising it would not be allowed under the current zoning.
"When you chop up the land the new owners come in and don't necessarily have the agricultural and economic skulls to move forward and make that land profitable.
"It just becomes an investment, like a picture on the wall, that sits there - I see it as a waiting room for subdivision."
He said agriculture in the area had to be able to make sales direct, which was the only way to make money.
"The question for Australia as a whole, Victoria in general and peri-urban Melbourne in particular is how you retain productive land and feed the population?"
Cardinia Shire has been contacted for comment.
Andrew Miller
I'm a general reporter with Stock & Land, with a special interest in irrigation issues. I completed my cadetship, with the Age, in 1980. Over my career, I've worked for ABC radio news (Mt Isa, Qld) and at provincial and suburban newspapers.
I'm a general reporter with Stock & Land, with a special interest in irrigation issues. I completed my cadetship, with the Age, in 1980. Over my career, I've worked for ABC radio news (Mt Isa, Qld) and at provincial and suburban newspapers.
