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A LOWER House inquiry into the impact of urban sprawl and population growth on farming and food manufacturing on the peri-urban fringe starts in Melbourne on Friday 3 May.

Interested people can watch the live broadcast of the Legislative Assembly Environment and Planning Committee from 9am.

The Department of Transport and Planning, Agriculture Victoria, Victorian Farmers Federation, Municipal Association of Victoria and Sustain: The Australian Food Network are due to appear in the morning session.

After lunch, Professors Michael Buxton and Andrew Butt, and co-founder of The Rural Planner Linda Martin-Chew will all have their say.

Committee chair Juliana Addison said the Melbourne hearing is just the first of several public hearings the committee intends to hold across Victoria. The hearing will be held in the Davui Room at 55 Saint Andrews Place, East Melbourne.

“We’ll be travelling to Gippsland, Geelong, Ballarat and Bendigo throughout May as well,” she said.

The current hearing schedule is:

Friday, 3 May 2024 Melbourne

Thursday, 16 May 2024 Morwell

Tuesday, 21 May 2024 Geelong

Wednesday, 22 May 2024 Ballarat

Thursday, 23 May 2024 Bendigo

The full witness schedule for Friday’s hearing in Melbourne is on the Committee’s website.