New Planning Scheme for Hepburn Shire

Published on 10 February 2022

Many in the community will be aware that Hepburn Shire Council commenced a review of the Hepburn Planning Scheme in 2020, with Council resolving to support the new scheme in March 2021. Council is pleased to announce that the Minister for Planning has now approved the Hepburn Shire C80hepb Planning Scheme Amendment.

The amendment builds on the significant work done by Council and the community over the past three years and strengthens its current positions on appropriate development within the Shire.

“The planning amendment sets the foundation for future strategic planning work to further protect and enhance aspects of our Shire that the community values,” said Mayor, Cr Tim Drylie.

“An incredible amount of work has gone into this amendment and it’s great to see the Minister has endorsed it.”

The planning scheme sets out the way land can be used, developed and protected, and guides planning and development decisions. The Hepburn Planning Scheme had not been significantly updated in more than 20 years. The amendment will allow Council to make decisions based on current planning standards.

Cr Drylie said Council can now begin work on township structure plans for Creswick, Clunes, Daylesford / Hepburn Springs and Trentham.

“Residents understandably feel ownership over the direction of their town, and as part of this work there has been and will be many more opportunities for the community to get involved and provide input,” said Cr Drylie. “Our Strategic Planning Team will lead the structure plans for townships and share more information about how to get involved in the coming months,” he said.

Throughout the development of the Planning Scheme and Council Plan 2021-2025, Council heard that reviewing the long-term planning framework needed to be key focus. As a result, Council has allocated significant funding in 2021/2022 and plans to fast track this work in 2022/2023.

Council’s Chief Executive Officer Bradley Thomas said the new Planning Scheme has been a major piece of work.

“This has been one of the most significant projects undertaken ever by Council and it is extremely pleasing to have the scheme approved,” said Mr Thomas.

“Thank you to everyone who participated in this project, especially to staff and consultants who have worked in a consultative manner to deliver a high quality, modern planning scheme,” he said.

The new scheme includes 19 new local policies providing direction on development expectations. The policies aim to strengthen the character of Hepburn Shire; protect towns from inappropriate development in Daylesford, Clunes, Hepburn Springs and Trentham; strengthen neighbourhood character; and improve protection of Hepburn’s heritage and dry stone walls.

The policies include clearer strategies and guidelines on expectations for Aboriginal cultural heritage, affordable housing, protection of mineral springs and fresh water springs, native vegetation and habitat, subdivisions, urban design, neighbourhood character and more. Most existing zones and overlays continue unchanged, including Farming, Commercial, Industrial Zones, Significant Landscape and Environmental Significance Overlays.

A list of key changes, more information and the amended Planning Scheme is available at https://participate.hepburn.vic.gov.au/planning-scheme. Amendment C80hepb was gazetted on Thursday 10 February and will apply to all planning permit applications from this date.

Council adopted the new scheme at its March 2021 meeting following extensive consultation and an independent planning panel, which reviewed submissions.