At the monthly Planning Delegated Committee Meeting on Wednesday 12 March 2025, Ballarat City Council considered the following items:
Amendment C243Ball part one - Bridge Mall and Bakery Hill Heritage Precinct
Ballarat City Council received a report relating to an amendment to the Heritage Overlay that applies to the Bridge Mall and Bakery Hill Heritage Precinct as part of the Ballarat Planning Scheme.
The report, which outlined recommendations made by independent body, Planning Panels Victoria - proposed the following changes:
- Changing the boundary to the overlay - this would remove one property from the heritage precinct that does not contribute to the heritage significance of the area.
- Updating the Statement of Significance and Heritage Citation for the heritage precinct - this would correct some minor details within the Statement of Significance and Heritage Citation that need to be updated, including revised gradings for properties within the precinct as outlined below.
- Revising heritage gradings - this will change the heritage gradings of some of the properties within the precinct to better reflect the current understanding of their heritage significance to the broader precinct. This amendment was initiated as part of a broader built form review of the Bakery Hill and Bridge Mall heritage precinct and is the first part of two amendments.
Ballarat City Council accepted the recommendation made by the independent planning panel and will submit the adopted amendment to the Minister for Planning for approval.
City of Ballarat Mayor Cr Tracey Hargreaves said the decision would ensure the Heritage Overlay covering the precinct is up-to-date and reflects best practice heritage management.
"The proposed changes to amendment, which Council officers will submit to the Planning Minister for approval, will ensure we are preserving the rich history of the Bakery Hill precinct while also recognising how the area is used by our community today," she said.
Ballarat West Precinct Structure Plan and Development Contributions review
Ballarat City Council received a report providing an update on changes made to the Ballarat West Precinct Structure Plan (PSP) and the Ballarat West Development Contributions Plan (DCP), which were adopted by Council in September 2024.
Following this, Council Officers lodged the relevant planning scheme amendment with the Department of Transport and Planning, which then requested further information leading to multiple changes in the documentation.
While some updates are minor, some would alter the impact of the amendment.
Updates to the PSP and DCP relate to:
1) Growling Grass Frog
The Growling Grass Frog, a federally protected species, is present in parts of the PSP area. While a Conservation Management Plan was developed in 2012 to protect the species, it needs to be updated to reflect updates to the planning scheme.
While the new Growling Grass Frog Conservation Management Plan is developed, the Department of Transport and Planning has advised there is a need to give greater weight to the existing Conservation Management Plan by further incorporating it into the PSP and Urban Growth Zone Schedule.
These updates would give landowners greater clarity regarding the requirements when making planning applications on land affected by a Growling Grass Frog habitat.
2) Public Open Space Contribution
Following some updates to the percentages of active and passive spaces within the Public Open Space Contribution, the Department of Trasport and Planning has advised the updates need to be reflected in the planning scheme controls for open space.
3) Land use changes
Since the September Council Meeting, Council Officers have recommended two land use changes:
The first recommended change involves Council-owned land at Alfredton, which is landlocked between the Djila-tjarriu Community Centre and a proposed primary school site. Officers recommended this land be allocated within the PSP to the primary school site.
The second recommended land use change relates to an indoor recreation centre and community centre on the Winterfield Estate. Council Officers have determined the site is not big enough to accommodate the indoor recreation centre and associated parking, instead proposing to swap the location of the indoor recreation centre with the community centre. This change would have no cost implications for the developer or DCP levies.
4) Drainage strategy
Following a review into the drainage strategy, which informs the DCP regarding the cost of drainage project, it came to light that an existing drainage pipe was shown incorrectly in the updated drainage strategy.
The cost of this pipe will be lower than estimated. The drainage strategy and DCP have been updated to reflect this.
5) Development Infrastructure Levy
The land reduction for the above community facilities and drainage pipe updates reduced the Development Infrastructure Level in the DCP, which Council approved in September 2024.
Outcome
Ballarat City Council voted to adopt the revised Ballarat West PSP and DCP, and support the proposed changes to the Ballarat Planning Scheme. This will allow Council Officers to apply to the Minister for Planning to obtain authorisation to prepare the amendment to the Ballarat Planning Scheme.
Cr Hargreaves said the updates to the Ballarat West PSP and DCP would ensure people living in the growth area into the future would have access to well-located community and civil infrastructure and open space.
"The PSP and DCP are important documents that help us plan for the best outcomes for the community that will one day live new housing developments in Ballarat West," she said.
