Heaven The Axe: takin' the long handle
BENDIGO’S residential Strategy will be reviewed because of greater than expected growth.
The State Government has announced a grant of $50,000 to carry out the review.
The review is needed because, according to the State Government, 40 per cent of the forecast growth between 2006 and 2031 had already been realised.
Regional Development Parliamentary Secretary Damian Drum made the announcement this morning.
Mr Drum said the Bendigo Residential Strategy Review would deliver greater community and investor certainty, helping the region grow.
“The Bendigo Residential Development Strategy was adopted in 2004 and is currently being audited because of the faster than anticipated growth that has occurred in Bendigo in recent years,” he said.
“Strong residential growth has many flow-on economic benefits and having a clear framework for future development will position Greater Bendigo City Council to undertake more detailed, place-based planning in the future.”
Deputy Premier Peter Ryan said about 40 per cent of the forecast growth between 2006 and 2031 had already been realised.
The Residential Strategy impacts directly on where and how property developments use “infill” parcels of land, range of housing styles and also on housing affordability.
“This project will review the strategy, assess current and estimated land supply and demand and consider various legislative and policy changes,” Mr Ryan said,
“It will also consider the latest demographic data and establish a new strategic framework to guide the long-term residential growth of Greater Bendigo.
“The project will result in a revised residential strategy that will give developers, the community and service providers greater surety and confidence about where land can be developed for residential purposes, and that sufficient land is available to accommodate the City of Greater Bendigo’s future growth.”
Mr Ryan said a contemporary strategic planning framework was essential to the economic development of a large regional centre like Bendigo.
“Clearly identifying future growth options and supporting infrastructure needs will enable the Greater Bendigo City Council and other infrastructure providers to plan their capital works programs well in advance,” he said.
“Identifying long-term growth areas will enable the council and other service authorities to start planning for the delivery of services, thereby minimising the lag time between when residential development occurs and when the services need to be in place.”
Ben Cameron | Bendigo Weekly | 14-Feb-2012 3.30pm
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Lead singer Phoebe Pinnock brings sweetness to The Axe's hard rocking riff machine.
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A MEETING on the streets of Wagga Wagga proved to be the catalyst for the formation of hard rockers Heaven The Axe.
Bombshell lead singer Phoebe Pinnock was spotted by the man she would eventually marry, Steve Watts (of Manticore fame), who had been entertaining the idea of a female-fronted Grinspoon at the time.
“One day he came up to me in the main street of Wagga Wagga where we come from and asked me to play some tunes,” Pinnock remembers.
“He was really hot so of course I agreed.
“The tunes then were either acoustic ballads or very heavy metal stuff, too metal for me at that point.
“So our songwriting relationship grew from a mutual compromise – Steve to tone down a bit and me to get rockin’ like a banshee.”
The end result would be Heaven The Axe, described as “a combination of masculine balls and feminine structure", a juxtaposition of Pinnock’s sassy vocals and a full-on metal “riff factory”, including guitarists Mat Silcock (Damaged) and Tim Aldridge (The Bezerker and Abramelin).
“I have a bit of a pop mindset, I’m into Mariah Carey and Tracy Bonham,” Pinnock says.
“Whereas the rest of the boys are into their Slipknot and Napalm Death.”
Heaven The Axe solidified after Watts and Pinnock moved to Melbourne, and teamed up with Silcock and producer Ren Parisi, who helped shape their music into an entirely new direction.
“We were lucky to land in the middle of a pretty good heavy metal scene,” Pinnock says.
“We were really amongst the cream of the crop.”
Formed in October 2009, Heaven The Axe released their debut record at The Palace to over 1000 punters, and supported Rose Tattoo on a string of shows, after being handpicked by Angry himself, who describes them as “beauty and the beast.”
Fronting a rock band wasn’t Pinnock’s original career choice, however.
“I wanted to be a stripper first... and then music stole my heart,” she says. Pinnock spent a year working as a dancer in Sydney’s Kings Cross.
Born of a rebellious Catholic boarding schoolgirl mother and a schizophrenic savant father, she describes her upbringing as extraordinary.
“My father’s mental illness caused a great deal of discussion and experimentation around the idea of God, his mind was genius and I was brought up to create my own meanings in life and that’s what I sing about, with my band of brothers, with all my being,” she says.
Heaven The Axe play The Corner Venue on Saturday, February 18. Their new album Sex, Chugs & Rock ‘N’ Roll, is out now.
BENDIGO’S residential Strategy will be reviewed because of greater than expected growth.
The State Government has announced a grant of $50,000 to carry out the review.
The review is needed because, according to the State Government, 40 per cent of the forecast growth between 2006 and 2031 had already been realised.
Regional Development Parliamentary Secretary Damian Drum made the announcement this morning.
Mr Drum said the Bendigo Residential Strategy Review would deliver greater community and investor certainty, helping the region grow.
“The Bendigo Residential Development Strategy was adopted in 2004 and is currently being audited because of the faster than anticipated growth that has occurred in Bendigo in recent years,” he said.
“Strong residential growth has many flow-on economic benefits and having a clear framework for future development will position Greater Bendigo City Council to undertake more detailed, place-based planning in the future.”
Deputy Premier Peter Ryan said about 40 per cent of the forecast growth between 2006 and 2031 had already been realised.
The Residential Strategy impacts directly on where and how property developments use “infill” parcels of land, range of housing styles and also on housing affordability.
“This project will review the strategy, assess current and estimated land supply and demand and consider various legislative and policy changes,” Mr Ryan said,
“It will also consider the latest demographic data and establish a new strategic framework to guide the long-term residential growth of Greater Bendigo.
“The project will result in a revised residential strategy that will give developers, the community and service providers greater surety and confidence about where land can be developed for residential purposes, and that sufficient land is available to accommodate the City of Greater Bendigo’s future growth.”
Mr Ryan said a contemporary strategic planning framework was essential to the economic development of a large regional centre like Bendigo.
“Clearly identifying future growth options and supporting infrastructure needs will enable the Greater Bendigo City Council and other infrastructure providers to plan their capital works programs well in advance,” he said.
“Identifying long-term growth areas will enable the council and other service authorities to start planning for the delivery of services, thereby minimising the lag time between when residential development occurs and when the services need to be in place.”
