An article in the Melbourne newspaper The Age reports that the State of Victoria is set to reform planning rules to prohibit high-density apartment developments in existing neighbourhoods.

Attorney-General Robert Clark announced government plans to reform planning laws to provide more guidance about the appropriate locations for high-density developments. Clark said administrators will no longer be able to approve ”very concerning large multi-unit developments on ordinary residential streets, despite opposition by the local council”.

The announcement follows a series in The Age by Swinburne University journalism students investigating how existing planning law and administration stymies local democracy and overrides local councils.

The article is available at http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/highdensity-developments-to-be-banned-in-neighbourhoods-20140222-33928.html.