Planning for housing in Maldon and Newstead
Update - Project on hold
Due to ongoing state government led planning reforms, work on this strategy, and the Castlemaine, Campbells Creek and Chewton Housing and Neighbourhood Strategy has been put on hold.
The Strategic Planning team is awaiting all state government led planning reforms to be released and realised before continuing or concluding this project.
What does this mean for the strategy?
The draft strategies were prepared prior to the State government planning reforms. The strategic planning team have been working to understand the details of the State planning reforms and how this may impact the strategies.
Now that the majority of reforms are complete, implemented and understood, it is clear that the strategies will not be able to be implemented in the way that was planned.
However, the strategic planning team are working towards understanding how this valuable work can still be used in other ways to ensure that the recommendations can be realised and achieved.
Where to from here?
The Housing and Neighbourhood Character Strategies have been put on hold until further direction and guidance from the State government (specifically, the Department of Planning and Transport) is provided, to help fully understand the new approach to planning for housing.
The Maldon and Newstead Housing and Neighbourhood Character Strategy responds to local, regional and state planning directions relating to housing and planning for population growth as well as community needs and aspirations.
The purpose of the project is to:
- Understand the changing housing needs in the community
- Identify potential sites for housing within urban areas and designate appropriate areas for future development
- Take into account neighbourhood character, heritage values and environmental factors to designate areas for substantial, incremental and minimal change
- Prepare design guidelines for Newstead for clearer guidance and certainty for future development
- Inform changes to planning policy in the Mount Alexander Planning Scheme
Why is the strategy needed?
The population of the Mount Alexander Shire is growing, and our towns are experiencing growth and housing pressures. This project seeks to encourage residential development within existing urban areas by providing clearer guidance and certainty on housing change areas and infill development outcomes.
The strategy, along with the Housing and Neighbourhood Character Strategy for Castlemaine, Campbells Creek and Chewton and Plan Harcourt, is to help guide residential development in the shire into the future.
How is the strategy being prepared?
The strategy is being prepared by Council’s Strategic Planning team and is to be informed by a number of technical studies including a demographic and housing data and bushfire risk assessment, as well as community and stakeholder consultation.
Importantly, the strategy is to consider the Victorian Government’s new guidance (Planning Practice Notes) for planning for housing and using the residential zones. These Planning Practice Notes provide advice to councils about how to prepare, use and apply Victoria’s planning provisions for residential development. The practice notes cover important topics including how to plan for housing and how to make best use of the planning tools to balance housing growth with the protection of neighbourhood character.