Amendment C151 – Ballarat Activity Centres Strategy

A Planning Scheme Amendment to the Ballarat Planning Scheme has been prepared - Amendment C151 Implementation of the Ballarat Activity Centres Strategy.

The amendment implements the Ballarat Activity Centres Strategy (2011) through changes to Clause 21.04 and 21.10 of the Ballarat Planning Scheme. This document has sought to establish a framework for development of commercial areas within the City of Ballarat. It seeks to move away from a purely retail based system to support the establishment of mixed use activity centres.

What happens now?

In order for the Strategy’s recommendations to be converted to land use and development controls, the Ballarat Planning Scheme now needs to be updated. A process known as a Planning Scheme Amendment will now take place to update the Ballarat Planning Scheme.

This is a lengthy process whereby the State Government must assess the land use and development controls being put forward by Council.

An important step in the Planning Scheme Amendment process is the exhibition phase. The formal public exhibition period for Amendment C151 took place from Friday 17 February 2012 and concluded on Monday 26 March 2012.

Council conducted a drop in information session on 28 February 2012, between 4pm and 7pm, in the Trench Room at the Town Hall, Sturt Street, Ballarat. This session enabled interested community members to drop in at their convenience, review the amendment documents and the Ballarat Activity Centre Strategy (2011) and ask any questions of officers about their content. There wasn't any formal presentation made, rather staff were available to answer questions and discuss any concerns.

The formal exhibition period for this Planning Scheme Amendment has now formally closed, submissions will be presented to Council for consideration in the near future.

The following documents were on exhibition from Friday 17 February 2012 to  Monday 26 March 2012.

 Amendment C151 - exhibition documents   

• Notice of preparation of an amendment (297KB)
• Gazette preparation notice (21KB)
• 21 mss04 (2,486 KB)
• 21 mss10 (43KB)
• Explanatory report 41KB)
• List of changes (19KB)
• Instruction sheet (17KB)
• List of amendments (24KB)
• Ballarat Activity Centres Strategy (Part 1)
  Ballarat Activity Centres Strategy (Part 2)
  
  Ballarat Activity Centres Strategy (Part 3)
  
  Ballarat Activity Centres Strategy (Part 4)
  
  Ballarat Activity Centres Strategy (Part 5)
  

Other information related to Amendment C151:

•   Key Information Sheet (149KB)

If you have any questions or require any further information please contact the Strategic Planning Unit on (03) 5320 5536 or strategicplanning@ballarat.vic.gov.au

 Overview of project

The City of Ballarat has experienced significant population growth in the last decade and it is forecast that this population growth will continue in the medium to long term.

With this significant population growth expected over the next 20-30 years, Council must be in a position to guide and direct activity centre planning in the City. This will ensure that the future structure and formation of the city’s activity centres adequately service not only the current retail and commercial needs, but also the social needs of a growing/changing Ballarat community.

The preparation of the Activity Centres Strategy will provide Council with the required robust policy and assessment criteria to consider new and existing activity centre developments throughout the entire City of Ballarat in the short, medium and long term.

Purpose

The principal purpose of the strategy is to:

• Provide a robust policy environment to support the long term planning and viability of retail, commercial and social activities and residential development within each activity centre of Ballarat;
• Examine existing activity centre hierarchy, particularly against State Planning Policies;
• Protect the primacy of the Ballarat central business district (CBD) as the principal activity centre for retail, commerce and entertainment use and development in Ballarat;
• Support appropriate growth and development of other activity centres without significantly impacting on the primacy of the Ballarat CBD (vision for activity centres);
• Conduct research that provides a better understanding of the current and potential future hierarchy of activity centres (including current and potential performance of each activity centre as benchmarks for future assessment and reviews) and associated consumer expenditure in Ballarat;
• Identify land use and infrastructure requirements for each centre including design  and streetscape;
• Identify opportunities for further investment to create new business and employment opportunities to maintain diversity in retail, commercial and social activities and promote residential development to support a growing Ballarat community;
• Promote a diversity of retail, commercial and social activities and residential development in designated activity centres; and
• Provide a long term vision for Ballarat to become the most significant retail destination in regional Victoria.

 Key outcomes of the project

The strategy will enable Council to plan for the growth and development of its activity centres with greater certainty through identifying the type of activities and facilities that will be required and encouraged to best serve the local and broader Ballarat community needs.

The Strategy will outline the specific role and function of each activity centre in furthering the economic role of Ballarat as the major centre of the western region (and assist in achieving the vision of Capital of the West).

The Strategy will identify a range of mechanism for Council to facilitate better decision making regarding the location and allocation of services and infrastructure and where further investments are required to create new business and employment opportunities within the city.

The strategy will also protect the primacy of the Ballarat CBD as the principal activity centre for retail, commerce and entertainment use and development in Ballarat, and further support and build on the CBD Strategy and Interim Activity Centres Strategy adopted by Council in May 2010.

The strategy will also recognise the important role and contribution of other activity centres to Ballarat’s economy and identify potential opportunities to continue to support appropriate development within these centres without significantly impacting on the primacy of the Ballarat CBD.

 What has been done so far?

Council’s consultant has undertaken the following tasks:

• Background review of current and past studies/reports;
• Current floorspace survey and analysis;
• Analysis of current role and function of each activity centres;
• Consumer Preference Survey;
• Population Projections for City of Ballarat and its Regional Catchment Area; and
• Analysis of future demand for retail, commercial and social floorspace.
• The City of Ballarat conducted 6 focus workshop sessions.

The Strategy was presented to Council on 28th September 2011, where Council resolved to;

1. Request the Minister for Planning’s authorisation to prepare a planning scheme amendment to incorporate the Ballarat Activity Centres Strategy into the Ballarat Planning Scheme pursuant to section 8A(3) of the Planning and Environment Act 1987; and 
2. Place the Ballarat Activity Centres Strategy on formal public exhibition pursuant to section 19 of the Planning and Environment Act 1987.

 The Council report is available for download:

• Council report - Amendment C151 - Ballarat Activity Centres Strategy - Project Update Report (83KB)