Grange Planning Brain

title: Amendment C235ball - Miners Rest Township Plan Implementation council: ballarat state: vic category: amendment classification: MAJOR status: approved last_compiled: 2026-05-31 source_docs:

  • Ballarat C235ball Explanatory Report Approval Gazetted.pdf
  • Ballarat C235ball Instruction Sheet Approval Gazetted.pdf
  • Ballarat C235ball Panel Report.pdf
  • 21.02 Settlement And Housing.pdf
  • 21.09 Local Areas.pdf
  • 21.10 Reference Documents.pdf
  • 32.09_ball Schedule 3 Neighbourhood Residential Zone.pdf
  • Ballarat C235ball 001znMap06 Approval Gazetted.pdf
  • Victoria Government Gazette S601.pdf

Amendment C235ball - Miners Rest Township Plan Implementation

Amendment C235ball is the statutory mechanism that turns the Miners Rest Township Plan from a strategic document into planning scheme policy and zoning controls for Miners Rest North. The practical effect is to hold most growth within the existing township boundary, direct higher density and mixed-use activity to the town centre, and reduce subdivision intensity in the older northern township through the Neighbourhood Residential Zone Schedule 3. (Source: Ballarat C235ball Explanatory Report Approval Gazetted.pdf; Source: 21.09 Local Areas.pdf, p.11; Source: 32.09_ball Schedule 3 Neighbourhood Residential Zone.pdf, p.1)

The amendment matters because it resolves a long-running planning tension: Miners Rest is close to Ballarat’s northern growth front, but it is also a physically separated township with flood, airport, quarry, equine precinct and rural landscape constraints. The Panel accepted the township-plan approach and recommended adoption as exhibited, meaning the amendment deliberately uses local character controls rather than additional residential rezoning as the main planning response. (Source: Ballarat C235ball Panel Report.pdf, pp.7-8; Source: Ballarat C235ball Explanatory Report Approval Gazetted.pdf)

Background

Miners Rest sits north of the Western Freeway and is separated from the outer northern edge of Ballarat by that freeway corridor. The township has an older northern area around Cummins Road and Creek Street, and newer residential estates south of Cummins Road toward the Western Freeway. (Source: Ballarat C235ball Explanatory Report Approval Gazetted.pdf; Source: Ballarat C235ball Panel Report.pdf, p.10)

The Miners Rest Township Plan was prepared after community and stakeholder consultation beginning in 2017, was adopted by Council on 11 December 2019, and sets a framework to guide land use and development to 2040. (Source: Ballarat C235ball Explanatory Report Approval Gazetted.pdf; Source: Ballarat C235ball Panel Report.pdf, p.11)

The policy lineage starts with Today, Tomorrow, Together: The Ballarat Strategy 2015, which proposed township plans for Learmonth, Cardigan Village, Burrumbeet, Warrenheip, Buninyong and Miners Rest. C235ball implements the Miners Rest component by removing the previous need to prepare a local area plan for Miners Rest, adding the Township Plan as a policy document and reference document, inserting the Miners Rest Framework Plan into Clause 21.09-5, rezoning much of Miners Rest North from GRZ1 to NRZ3, and amending Planning Scheme Map 6. (Source: Ballarat C235ball Explanatory Report Approval Gazetted.pdf; Source: Ballarat C235ball Instruction Sheet Approval Gazetted.pdf)

The amendment was authorised on 24 October 2022, exhibited from 17 November to 19 December 2022, considered by a Panel in May 2023, adopted by Council on 9 August 2023, submitted to the Minister on 31 August 2023, and approved to operate from 14 November 2023. (Source: Ballarat C235ball Panel Report.pdf, pp.6, 11; Source: web-research-L1-c235ball-dtp-api.pdf; Source: Victoria Government Gazette S601.pdf, p.1)

Analysis

Statutory Mechanism

C235ball works through four linked instruments: Clause 21.02, Clause 21.09, Clause 21.10 and the new NRZ3 schedule. Clause 21.02 now treats Miners Rest as a completed township-plan task by deleting Miners Rest from the list of places still needing a local area or community plan. (Source: Ballarat C235ball Instruction Sheet Approval Gazetted.pdf; Source: 21.02 Settlement And Housing.pdf, p.6)

Clause 21.09-5 is the main policy engine. It identifies Miners Rest as a township north of Ballarat, separated by the Western Freeway, and expressly recognises flood-prone land and airport flight paths as development constraints. (Source: 21.09 Local Areas.pdf, p.11)

The Clause 21.09-5 strategies support infill residential development only where it respects the character of Miners Rest North and Miners Rest South, support higher density housing and mixed uses in the existing mixed-use town centre precinct, protect rural land for agriculture and equine activity, protect Ballarat Airport, discourage eastward expansion of the quarry, and support the Dowling Forest equine industry. (Source: 21.09 Local Areas.pdf, p.11)

This structure is important because it separates three growth questions that are often collapsed into one. The town centre can accommodate more intensive housing and services, the older northern township is managed for lower-scale character, and the former quarry and land between the Northern Growth Area and the Equine Precinct remain future investigation areas rather than immediate residential supply. (Source: 21.09 Local Areas.pdf, pp.11-13; Source: Ballarat C235ball Panel Report.pdf, pp.21-23)

Neighbourhood Character and Subdivision Controls

The amendment rezones northern parts of Miners Rest from General Residential Zone Schedule 1 to Neighbourhood Residential Zone Schedule 3, excluding the GRZ1 land forming part of the town centre immediately south of Creek Street. (Source: Ballarat C235ball Explanatory Report Approval Gazetted.pdf; Source: Ballarat C235ball 001znMap06 Approval Gazetted.pdf)

NRZ3 sets a 750 square metre minimum subdivision area, 45 per cent maximum site coverage, 45 per cent minimum permeability, and a canopy-tree requirement of at least one canopy tree per 175 square metres of site area. (Source: 32.09_ball Schedule 3 Neighbourhood Residential Zone.pdf, p.1)

The mechanism is direct: a 750 square metre minimum lot size limits the number of lots that can be created from existing large residential parcels, while the 45 per cent site coverage and 45 per cent permeability standards keep a larger share of each lot available for landscape, water infiltration and canopy planting. (Source: 32.09_ball Schedule 3 Neighbourhood Residential Zone.pdf, p.1)

The Panel accepted this mechanism because the Character Report found that 78 per cent of lots in Miners Rest North exceeded 750 square metres and that 84 per cent of surveyed lots had existing site coverage of 40 per cent or less. (Source: Ballarat C235ball Panel Report.pdf, p.37)

The practical planning consequence is that Miners Rest North is no longer treated like a standard suburban infill area. It is treated as a low-scale township area where subdivision yield is subordinated to rural township character, landscape views and canopy outcomes. (Source: 32.09_ball Schedule 3 Neighbourhood Residential Zone.pdf, p.1; Source: Ballarat C235ball Panel Report.pdf, pp.32-34)

Housing Supply and the Northern Growth Area

The amendment does not rezone additional residential land for growth. Its housing-supply position is that Miners Rest can accommodate growth through infill within existing residentially zoned land to 2030, while broader municipal supply will be addressed through Ballarat West and the Northern Growth Area. (Source: Ballarat C235ball Explanatory Report Approval Gazetted.pdf)

The Panel recorded that the Miners Rest Township Plan identified potential for at least 500 additional residential allotments on existing residentially zoned land and estimated demand of about 40 dwellings per year, equating to about 12.5 years of supply within the township. (Source: Ballarat C235ball Panel Report.pdf, p.25)

Resi Ventures contested this supply position and argued that recent demand had reduced Miners Rest supply to about 320 lots, which would represent about eight years of supply at 40 lots per year or about five years at 67 lots per year. (Source: Ballarat C235ball Panel Report.pdf, pp.27-28)

The Panel did not accept that C235ball would negatively affect municipal housing supply. It reasoned that residential land supply is assessed at the municipal scale, that the contribution of Miners Rest to Ballarat’s overall residential supply is small, and that Council had identified the Northern, North Western and Western Growth Areas plus infill as the main supply response. (Source: Ballarat C235ball Panel Report.pdf, pp.30-31)

This creates a clear dependency: the character-protection logic of C235ball depends on larger growth areas carrying the main housing-supply burden. If the Ballarat North Precinct Structure Plan or other growth areas are delayed, pressure may return to Miners Rest North, the former quarry and edge-of-town Farming Zone land. (Source: Ballarat C235ball Panel Report.pdf, pp.29-31; Source: Ballarat C235ball Explanatory Report Approval Gazetted.pdf)

Former Quarry Land

The former quarry at 13-91 Victoria Street is outside the township boundary, is in the Farming Zone, covers approximately 47.4 hectares, and is partly affected by the Environmental Significance Overlay Schedule 2, Land Subject to Inundation Overlay, Erosion Management Overlay and Floodway Overlay. (Source: Ballarat C235ball Panel Report.pdf, pp.19-20)

The quarry was formerly operated by Boral, ceased extraction in 2017, is being rehabilitated, is flooded, and is closed to the public. (Source: Ballarat C235ball Panel Report.pdf, p.10)

The Township Plan identifies the quarry as a potential residential growth area only subject to further analysis, including aircraft noise, bushfire risk and land contamination assessment. (Source: 21.09 Local Areas.pdf, p.12; Source: Ballarat C235ball Explanatory Report Approval Gazetted.pdf)

Resi Ventures sought wording to make investigation of the quarry a short-term priority, but the Panel found insufficient strategic support to prioritise it for short-term residential development. (Source: Ballarat C235ball Panel Report.pdf, pp.21-23)

The mechanism is cautious sequencing. C235ball does not close off future residential use of the quarry, but it refuses to let the quarry become an immediate supply solution until contamination, airport noise, bushfire, flooding, access and strategic housing questions are resolved through separate processes. (Source: Ballarat C235ball Panel Report.pdf, pp.20-23; Source: 21.09 Local Areas.pdf, p.12)

Flooding, Burrumbeet Creek and Open Space

Clause 21.09-5 supports open space on land adjacent to Burrumbeet Creek that would otherwise not be developed because of environmental constraints, protects the environmental and biodiversity values of Burrumbeet Creek, and calls for a creek rehabilitation and environmental protection program with community, landowners, Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation, DELWP and Glenelg Hopkins Catchment Management Authority. (Source: 21.09 Local Areas.pdf, pp.11-12)

The same clause requires Council to work with Glenelg Hopkins Catchment Management Authority to update flood mapping for the Burrumbeet floodplain around Miners Rest and to develop a strategic flood mitigation plan with an implementation plan. (Source: 21.09 Local Areas.pdf, pp.12-13)

Glenelg Hopkins Catchment Management Authority supported the amendment but sought changes to flood controls based on updated flood modelling, and the Panel accepted Council’s position that this should be handled through a separate future amendment. (Source: Ballarat C235ball Panel Report.pdf, p.13; Source: Ballarat C235ball Explanatory Report Approval Gazetted.pdf)

The consequence is that C235ball embeds flood and creek work as future strategic tasks rather than resolving the flood-control layer. This is a material analytical gap because flood mapping may affect the developable area, public open space configuration and feasibility of both the creek corridor and quarry-related connections. (Source: Ballarat C235ball Panel Report.pdf, p.13; Source: 21.09 Local Areas.pdf, pp.12-13)

Airport, Bushfire and Contamination Constraints

The amendment protects the long-term operation of Ballarat Airport and requires airport planning controls to be considered. (Source: 21.09 Local Areas.pdf, pp.11, 13)

Most of Miners Rest is in a Bushfire Prone Area, but the amendment land is not affected by a Bushfire Management Overlay. (Source: Ballarat C235ball Explanatory Report Approval Gazetted.pdf)

The bushfire assessment described the study area as Landscape Type 1: Grasslands and concluded that rezoning existing residential land from GRZ1 to NRZ3 within the existing settlement boundary had no bushfire implications, while new growth outside existing settlement areas would require future bushfire analysis. (Source: Ballarat C235ball Explanatory Report Approval Gazetted.pdf)

EPA was satisfied that potential contamination of land identified for sensitive uses had been addressed for the amendment, but the Panel noted that the quarry would need a full environmental assessment if proposed for a sensitive land use in the future. (Source: Ballarat C235ball Explanatory Report Approval Gazetted.pdf; Source: Ballarat C235ball Panel Report.pdf, p.13)

These constraints reinforce the same planning logic: C235ball is mainly a policy and character-control amendment, not a development-enabling amendment for constrained land. (Source: Ballarat C235ball Explanatory Report Approval Gazetted.pdf; Source: Ballarat C235ball Panel Report.pdf, pp.13, 21-23)

Equine Precinct and Rural Interfaces

Miners Rest contains the Dowling Forest Racecourse and an Equine Precinct that the Panel described as one of Victoria’s major thoroughbred training centres, with estimated economic benefits to the Central Highlands region of about $60 million annually. (Source: Ballarat C235ball Panel Report.pdf, p.11)

Clause 21.09-5 supports the continued operation of the equine industry and Dowling Forest Equine Precinct, protects rural land for agricultural, farming and equine activity, and requires a review of planning controls around Dowling Forest Racecourse, including SUZ13 and Farming Zone A and B. (Source: 21.09 Local Areas.pdf, pp.11, 13)

Submitter 8 sought inclusion of four Farming Zone properties in the Equine Precinct, but the Panel found it premature to include those properties before Council completed its strategic review of equine precinct planning controls. (Source: Ballarat C235ball Panel Report.pdf, pp.40-42)

This issue shows that C235ball is not the final settlement of Miners Rest’s rural interface. It locks in township character policy but leaves the exact spatial relationship between the equine precinct, Farming Zone land and future growth areas for later strategic work. (Source: Ballarat C235ball Panel Report.pdf, pp.40-42; Source: 21.09 Local Areas.pdf, p.13)

Current Status

C235ball is approved and operational. The Minister for Planning approved the amendment, and it came into operation when notice was published in the Victoria Government Gazette on 14 November 2023. (Source: Victoria Government Gazette S601.pdf, p.1)

Council adopted the amendment as exhibited on 9 August 2023 and resolved to submit it to the Minister for approval under section 31(1) of the Planning and Environment Act 1987. (Source: web-research-L1-c235ball-council-adoption-minutes-ballarat.pdf, p.5)

The DTP amendment record lists the amendment status as finished and the outcome as approved with changes. (Source: web-research-L1-c235ball-dtp-api.pdf)

Dependencies

  • Blocks: C235ball blocks character-inconsistent subdivision outcomes in Miners Rest North by applying NRZ3 controls with a 750 square metre minimum subdivision area, 45 per cent maximum site coverage and 45 per cent minimum permeability. (Source: 32.09_ball Schedule 3 Neighbourhood Residential Zone.pdf, p.1)
  • Blocked by: Future residential development of the former quarry remains blocked by further aircraft noise, bushfire risk, land contamination, flooding, access and strategic housing analysis. (Source: 21.09 Local Areas.pdf, p.12; Source: Ballarat C235ball Panel Report.pdf, pp.20-23)
  • Informed by: The amendment was informed by the Miners Rest Township Plan, Miners Rest Township Plan Background Research and Analysis Report, community consultation reports, draft township plans, Miners Rest North Township Character Assessment and referral/statutory authorities. (Source: Ballarat C235ball Panel Report.pdf, pp.14-16)
  • Implements: The amendment implements the Miners Rest Township Plan and the Ballarat Strategy 2015 township-planning program. (Source: Ballarat C235ball Explanatory Report Approval Gazetted.pdf; Source: 21.10 Reference Documents.pdf, p.2)
  • Conflicts with: The main tension is between township character protection and arguments for additional short-term housing supply, especially at 1-11 Victoria Street and the former quarry land. (Source: Ballarat C235ball Panel Report.pdf, pp.24-38)

The amendment relies on state and regional agency coordination. CFA, Department of Transport and EPA were formally notified during exhibition, EPA was satisfied about potential contamination for the amendment, CFA raised no concerns, and Glenelg Hopkins Catchment Management Authority requested updated flood mapping for Miners Rest. (Source: Ballarat C235ball Explanatory Report Approval Gazetted.pdf)

The Ballarat North Precinct Structure Plan is the most important adjacent planning dependency. The Panel recorded that the Victorian Planning Authority was preparing the Ballarat North PSP for 832 hectares immediately adjacent to Miners Rest, comprising a 561 hectare core area and a 271 hectare expanded area. (Source: Ballarat C235ball Panel Report.pdf, pp.11, 29)

The Northern Growth Area is intended to complement Miners Rest and relieve pressure for intense infill in the original township and further greenfield allocation around Miners Rest. (Source: Ballarat C235ball Explanatory Report Approval Gazetted.pdf)

Gaps in This Analysis

This page is constrained because the manifest includes the Panel report, approval documents, final clauses, map, gazette notice and DTP record, but not the full extracted text of several background studies listed in the DTP record. Missing source documents include the Bushfire Assessment Miners Rest Township Plan Final Report 30 August 2022, Community Infrastructure Assessment June 2018, Miners Rest North Character Assessment Supplementary Report November 2019, Miners Rest Township Plan Background Information and Analysis Report November 2019, and Miners Rest Township Plan Report November 2019. (Source: web-research-L1-c235ball-dtp-api.pdf)

Because those background studies are not in the manifest source set, this page cannot independently quantify community infrastructure capacity, full lot-yield assumptions, detailed character survey methodology, quarry remediation evidence, or flood and drainage modelling. The Panel report provides some extracted figures, such as the 500-lot township supply estimate, 750 square metre lot-size basis, 78 per cent lot-size finding and 84 per cent site-coverage finding, but the underlying calculations cannot be fully audited from the available manifest documents. (Source: Ballarat C235ball Panel Report.pdf, pp.25, 37)

A future gap-fill should prioritise the full Township Plan, Background Information and Analysis Report, Character Assessment, Bushfire Assessment, Community Infrastructure Assessment, flood modelling material from Glenelg Hopkins Catchment Management Authority, and any Ballarat North PSP material that defines the interface between Miners Rest, the Northern Growth Area and the Dowling Forest Equine Precinct. (Source: web-research-L1-c235ball-dtp-api.pdf; Source: 21.09 Local Areas.pdf, pp.12-13)

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