Neighbourhood Character Review

• About the Draft Policy and Plan
• Consultation on the Banyule Neighbourhood Character Draft Policy and Plan
• Reference Library

About the Draft Policy and Plan

The Draft Policy and Plan:

• Is Council’s policy framework for supporting housing change in residential areas within an identified desired future neighbourhood character.
• Helps to implement Banyule’s Housing Strategy 2009 which is Council’s long term plan for housing change to 2030.
• Replaces the Neighbourhood Character Strategy prepared in 1999.
• Supports State Government policy on housing and neighbourhood character, particular Melbourne 2030 and Melbourne @ 5 Million.
• Includes Precinct Strategic Statements that describe the desired future character and objectives for each of the 13 neighbourhood character precincts.
• Includes an Implementation Plan to guide ongoing work.  Priority work is for a Planning Scheme Amendment.

 The Policy and Plan is not:

• Planning policy until it is included in the Banyule Planning Scheme.  To do this Council will prepare a Planning Scheme Amendment.  Once prepared, the proposed changes to the Planning Scheme will be made available for public comment.
• A detailed design policy.  The details will follow in the Planning Scheme Amendment.  

Background Documents 
Several background documents have also been prepared to support the draft and describe the work done.  

• What is Neighbourhood Character? 
  Gives useful information about the definition of neighbourhood character for planning schemes.
  
  
• Background Report.
  Gives a summary of the analysis and survey work done to information the draft;
  
  
•  Planning Permit Data Report. 
   Gives an analysis of sampled residential planning permit approvals to describe outcomes for the physical aspects of residential streets.

Consultation on the Banyule Neighbourhood Character Draft Policy and Plan

Council has prepared a draft Policy and Plan for neighbourhood character as the first key stage in the review. 

Consultation with residents, community groups and relevant organisations took place between October 2010 and February 2011.  The comments received on this draft during the consultation period will inform any changes to the Draft Policy and Plan. 

Where to Next?

• Council will prepare a Planning Scheme Amendment which includes possible changes to the Municipal Strategic Statement, local planning policies, residential zones (including new Schedules) and overlays.
• Consultation will take place on the proposed Amendment once it is prepared and has been authorised by the Minister for Planning.

Reference Library

The following documents are relevant to the review:  

Melbourne 2030 Summary and Melbourne @ 5 million

Melbourne 2030 is a 30-year plan to manage growth and change across metropolitan Melbourne and the surrounding region.  Melbourne @ 5 million builds upon Melbourne2030 and outlines the implications of the Victoria in Future 2008 growth projections for Melbourne, which indicate that the city’s population is likely to reach 5 million before 2030.

Summary of Melbourne 2030  

Practice Notes Relevant to Neighbourhood Character

The following State Government Practice Notes provide planning advice on neighbourhood character.

New Residential Zones

Draft new residential zones have been developed by the State Government to provide councils with better tools to manage new development in residential areas and to give communities greater certainty about the type of development they can expect in their neighbourhoods.

Banyule Housing Strategy 2009
Council has prepared a local housing strategy with the community and housing industry stakeholders.  It describes five housing themes for Sustainability, Affordability, Diversity, Character, as well as Infrastructure, Services and Transport.

Banyule Neighbourhood Character Strategy 1999
The Banyule Neighbourhood Character Strategy describes the city’s character and contains development guidelines for each part of the city.

Neighbourhood Character Precinct Brochures

The 1999 Neighbourhood Character Strategy divides Banyule into a number of precincts with common characteristics.  Precinct Brochures include guidelines which are used by Banyule Council in the assessment of planning applications for residential development.

ResCode (Clause 54, 55 and 56 of the Banyule Planning Scheme)

Residential development within Victoria is controlled by residential development provisions and tools.  Commonly known as ‘ResCode’, the residential development provisions are incorporated into all Victorian planning schemes and the Victorian Building Regulations.

Banyule Community Plan

The Community Plan captures the community's view of a vision, priorities and actions to enhance the physical, social and economic wellbeing of the local area.  A key aspect of community planning is that the process and output is owned by the community rather than just Council.