Amendment C56 – Diamond Gully Structure Plan Implementation

Current status

The Minister for Planning has approved Amendment C56 to the Mount Alexander Planning Scheme. The Amendment came into operation on 13 July 2017 when the Amendment C56 notice was published in the Government Gazette.

Purpose of the amendment

The amendment amends the Mount Alexander Planning Scheme to give effect to the Diamond Gully Structure Plan, 2016. Specifically, the amendment:

• Rezones a strip of part Industrial 1 Zone and Rural Living Zone land located within the eastern part of the DGSP area to part General Residential Zone Schedule 1 and part Industrial 3 Zone.
• Applies the Environmental Significance Overlay (ESO) to some land located to the west of Sluicers Road and south of Diamond Gully Road, Campbell’s Creek.
• Amends the Municipal Strategic Statement (MSS) at Clause 21.12 to insert a new sub-Clause 21.12-3 (Diamond Gully) to identify the objectives and strategies for promoting development in Diamond Gully consistent with the desired development outcomes identified in the DGSP, including key environmental and land use constraints. A range of strategies to achieve this outcome are specified which reinforce the directions contained in the DGSP.
• Inserts a new Schedule 6 to Clause 42.01 ESO to require an environmental audit for part of the land within the DGSP area (to manage the risk of potential gas migration from the Castlemaine Landfill).
• Amends the schedule to Clause 61.03 to include new map 19ESO.
• Includes the ‘Diamond Gully Structure Plan, July 2016’ and the ‘Castlemaine Landfill and Buffer Assessment 2016’ as reference documents in the planning scheme.

Background to the amendment

The Diamond Gully area was identified for residential growth in a number of Council's strategies including the Urban Living Strategy and Castlemaine Residential Study. In 2004 Council starting investigating and preparing the Diamond Gully Structure Plan.

Diamond Gully is identified on the Castlemaine Land Use Framework Plan (included at clause 21.03 of the Mount Alexander Planning Scheme) as Castlemaine’s primary urban growth area. The area is located at the south-western edge of Castlemaine and covers an area of 182 hectares. The area has the potential to meet the projected demand for new residential land at Castlemaine over the next 15 years.

The Diamond Gully Structure Plan was adopted by Council in April 2010. However the start of an amendment to the Mount Alexander Planning Scheme to give effect to the Structure Plan was delayed due to the need to revise the plan to take into account the bushfire planning provisions introduced following the 2009 Bushfires Royal Commission. Following changes to state-wide bushfire policy at the end of 2011 and in 2012, Council undertook another bushfire assessment of the area and commissioned a review of the Structure Plan.

The Structure Plan identifies the preferred urban form for the area, and provides for connectivity and linkages within the area and externally to Castlemaine and Campbell’s Creek. The Structure Plan has been prepared with regard to the need to promote subdivision and residential development against other considerations including the protection of wildlife and human life with regard to bushfire danger. It also considers the potential for contamination of land proximate to the Castlemaine landfill and areas previously used for landfilling.

The Structure Plan identifies various development outcomes for the different areas which make up the structure plan. These outcomes range from conventional residential densities (500 – 1000 m2 lots) in the infill residential areas in the northern part of the site, conventional and medium density densities in the southern greenfield areas, and low density residential densities (1ha – 2ha) in the perimeter areas.

Accessing further information and documentation

Full amendment documentation is available from Amendments Online through the Victorian Government's Planning website.

For more information, please contact the Strategic Planning team on 03 5471 7100 or email info@mountalexander.vic.gov.au.