Industrial Land Use Strategy

What is the Industrial Land Use Strategy?

An Industrial Land Use Strategy has been prepared for the City of Ballarat by consultants Connell Wagner to make an assessment of likely future demand for industrial land use in Ballarat. The Strategy contains recommendations for locations where this demand will be accommodated.

A draft strategy was exhibited in October 2004, and a final report produced in July 2005.

Undertaken in response to recommendations arising from a review of the City's Municipal Strategic Statement in April 2005, the Strategy will form the basis for rationalisation of existing pockets of industrial land in residential areas, and provide strategic direction for consideration of new industrial areas into the future.

What are the Objectives of the Study?

The objectives of the Strategy are to:

• audit the existing industrial land holdings
• ascertain the present and anticipated future demand for industrial land
• identify and nominate areas suitable for levels of industrial uses identified in the previous objective
• identify land currently zoned Industrial 1 that may be more appropriately zoned
• nominate areas that may be suitable for future industrial development
• identify infrastructure issues affecting existing and future industrial areas

Key Issues

The draft Strategy recommended rezoning approximately 50 hectares of land at Gillies Street North, 55 hectares at Midlands Highway West and 35 hectares at Midland Highway East to an industrial zoning.

The Strategy attracted approximately 130 submissions, primarily from land owners in the vicinity of Blind Creek Road .

Other issues raised by submitters include:

• pollution and other environmental concerns, including impacts on wetlands and Burrumbeet Creek
• traffic
• property devaluation
• noise
• impacts on Ballarat Commons
• safety
• impacts on nearby residential areas
• no justification for additional industrial land
• loss of agricultural land.

The Strategy was subsequently modified in response to the submissions, with further work undertaken in relation to future demand.

A review of land supply and demand by sub-consultants Charter Keck Cramer identified a far lower future take-up of industrial land than first forecast, resulting in reduced areas of land at Blind Creek Road being recommended for future industrial expansion in the final Strategy.

Recommendations

The final adopted Strategy:

• provides for some limited rezoning of land in the short term (approximately 55Ha at the orth-west corner of the Midland Highway and Western Freeway), and
• identifies land on the north-west corner of the Midland Highway and Western Freeway, as well as land around the Ballarat Aerodrome (subject to the development of a more detailed Master Plan), for medium to long-term industrial development.
• Some sites within existing parts of Ballarat are recommended to be rezoned in part from Industrial 1 to Industrial 3, to reflect the close interface of industrial land with residential housing, and the need for less intensive forms of industrial development in buffer areas.

The Strategy further recommends the rezoning of a number of existing industrially zoned pockets of land within Ballarat to either a Residential 1 or Mixed Use Zone in acknowledgement of the conflict created by small pockets of industrial land in otherwise residential areas.

The implementation chapter of the Strategy recommends that the Ballarat Planning Scheme be amended to:

• modify references to industrial development in the Municipal Strategic Statement
• modify the Industrial Policy at Clause 22.05 of the Scheme
• undertake rezonings that are recommended
• introduce an Environment Audit Overlay to selected sites being rezoned residential
• introduce a Development Plan Overlay to some sites that comprise a number of titles and require a co-ordinated approach to subdivision and development

The Council adopted the final report of the Industrial Land Use Strategy at its meeting on 24 August 2005.

It exhibited a Planning Scheme Amendment (Reference C88) in January 2006 to introduce changes to the Ballarat Planning Scheme as noted above.

Any queries can be directed to the Strategic Planning Unit on phone 03 5320 5536 or email strategicplanning@ballarat.vic.gov.au.

 Links

Ballarat Industrial Land Use Strategy Implementation Report (PDF - 356KB)

• Appendix A (PDF - 4810KB)
• Appendix B (see table below)
• Appendix C (PDF - 1129KB)
• Appendix D (PDF - 1656KB)
• Appendix E (PDF - 1758KB)
• Appendix F (PDF - 137KB)
• Appendix G (PDF - 135KB)
• Appendix H (PDF - 278KB)
• Appendix I (PDF - 958KB)
• Appendix J (PDF - 42KB)

Appendix B: