title: Footpath Strategy 2024 council: golden-plains state: vic category: strategy classification: MINOR status: adopted last_compiled: 2026-05-30 source_docs:

Att 08.14 GPS_Footpath Strategy_2024 Reduced.pdf
Att 7.09 Footpath Strategy 2024 reduced.pdf

Footpath Strategy 2024

The Footpath Strategy 2024 gives Golden Plains Shire a 10-year prioritisation method for delivering, upgrading and maintaining formal footpaths across the municipality, with immediate attention directed to the 10 largest townships by population at the time of the strategy work (Source: Att 08.14 GPS_Footpath Strategy_2024 Reduced.pdf, p.4). Its planning importance is not that it creates a large infrastructure program by itself, but that it converts community requests, network gaps, safety concerns, accessibility needs and policy alignment into a repeatable scoring system that can guide annual capital works decisions (Source: Att 08.14 GPS_Footpath Strategy_2024 Reduced.pdf, pp.11-15).

The strategy is constrained by delivery funding: Council identifies an annual budget of approximately $200,000 for new footpath installations or upgrades, and states that this means not all priority projects can be delivered sequentially within one budget cycle (Source: Att 08.14 GPS_Footpath Strategy_2024 Reduced.pdf, p.16). The practical effect is that the priority ranking identifies need, while financial feasibility, site conditions, timing, stakeholder agreement and alignment with other Council strategies determine whether a ranked project can proceed in a given year (Source: Att 08.14 GPS_Footpath Strategy_2024 Reduced.pdf, p.16).

Background

The strategy replaces a previous footpath strategy that had reached the end of its useful life, and it is intended to guide decision-making for the next 10 years (Source: Att 08.14 GPS_Footpath Strategy_2024 Reduced.pdf, p.5). The preparation process combined desktop analysis of existing conditions and infrastructure, fieldwork to ground-truth desktop assumptions, community consultation workshops, review by Council’s project steering group, and review of supporting strategies and documents (Source: Att 08.14 GPS_Footpath Strategy_2024 Reduced.pdf, p.5).

Golden Plains Shire is described as spanning 2,702 square kilometres between Geelong and Ballarat, with 24,985 residents across 56 rural communities according to the 2021 ABS Census (Source: Att 08.14 GPS_Footpath Strategy_2024 Reduced.pdf, p.5). The strategy links the footpath network to a wider growth-management task because the Council Plan 2021-2025 anticipates 2.6% annual population growth and a projected 2041 population of 42,193, with Bannockburn specifically highlighted for robust growth expectations (Source: Att 08.14 GPS_Footpath Strategy_2024 Reduced.pdf, p.5).

The supporting policy framework includes the Council Plan 2021-25, growth and structure plans, the Tracks and Trails Strategy adopted in February 2024, the Climate Emergency Plan, the Environment Strategy 2019-2027, and the Municipal Public Health and Wellbeing Action Plan 2021-2025 (Source: Att 08.14 GPS_Footpath Strategy_2024 Reduced.pdf, p.7). The Council Plan connection is through liveability and health-and-wellbeing objectives, because the strategy is framed as supporting walking, cycling, social and health outcomes, and reduced reliance on vehicles (Source: Att 08.14 GPS_Footpath Strategy_2024 Reduced.pdf, p.7).

Analysis

Network Role and Service Standard

The strategy borrows the pathway hierarchy already used in the GPS Road Management Plan 2021-2025, which classifies paths as FC commercial, FT township and FR rural (Source: Att 08.14 GPS_Footpath Strategy_2024 Reduced.pdf, p.8). Because the strategy focuses on the 10 largest townships, it states that all new or upgraded paths under the strategy will fall under the FT township identifier (Source: Att 08.14 GPS_Footpath Strategy_2024 Reduced.pdf, p.8).

This matters because it keeps the strategy focused on local township movement rather than treating every rural-road walking request as equivalent. In simple terms, the document is building a shopping list for paths where people already live, walk to services, reach schools and connect to township activity, rather than promising a municipality-wide sealed path network across all 2,702 square kilometres (Source: Att 08.14 GPS_Footpath Strategy_2024 Reduced.pdf, pp.5, 8).

The gaps analysis identifies recurring network problems across the 10 largest townships: missing connections between new subdivisions and main roads or community facilities; missing links between recreation trails, parks, reserves and residential areas; missing connections to major community infrastructure such as schools, shops, parks and community centres; and community-requested upgrades that also score highly against other prioritisation criteria (Source: Att 08.14 GPS_Footpath Strategy_2024 Reduced.pdf, p.9). The planning implication is that the strategy is primarily a network-completion tool: its strongest use is closing small but consequential breaks between existing residential areas, services and existing paths, rather than creating wholly new settlement patterns (Source: Att 08.14 GPS_Footpath Strategy_2024 Reduced.pdf, p.9).

Consultation and Evidence Base

The strategy records three community consultation sessions in August 2023: Smythesdale on Friday 18 August 2023 from 10:30am to 12:00pm, Haddon on Friday 18 August 2023 from 1:30pm to 3:00pm, and Bannockburn on Monday 21 August 2023 from 5:00pm to 6:30pm (Source: Att 08.14 GPS_Footpath Strategy_2024 Reduced.pdf, p.10). The sessions presented large maps of each township and asked community members to review, comment and mark priority gaps in the footpath network (Source: Att 08.14 GPS_Footpath Strategy_2024 Reduced.pdf, p.10).

The community consultation is important because the strategy recognises that desktop and field analysis did not fully capture local township knowledge (Source: Att 08.14 GPS_Footpath Strategy_2024 Reduced.pdf, p.10). The mechanism is direct: resident input becomes one of the criteria in the priority matrix, so repeated community requests can lift a path’s score where the request indicates demonstrated demand or mobility need (Source: Att 08.14 GPS_Footpath Strategy_2024 Reduced.pdf, pp.11, 14).

An Issues Paper titled Golden Plains Shire Footpath Strategy 2023-2033: Issues Paper was completed by Spiire in October 2023 after the analysis phase, and it summarised desktop research, field analysis, community consultation and online Have Your Say input (Source: Att 08.14 GPS_Footpath Strategy_2024 Reduced.pdf, p.11). The Issues Paper was presented to Council’s project steering group to discuss how the derived information would inform the final strategy (Source: Att 08.14 GPS_Footpath Strategy_2024 Reduced.pdf, p.11).

Priority Matrix Mechanism

The priority matrix contains 11 criteria across five categories: Safety, Connectivity, Accessibility, Negative Impact and Strategic (Source: Att 08.14 GPS_Footpath Strategy_2024 Reduced.pdf, p.12). The document states that higher scores indicate higher priority, allowing Council to create a ranked list of projects for capital works programming or funding applications (Source: Att 08.14 GPS_Footpath Strategy_2024 Reduced.pdf, p.12).

Safety is weighted through road type, sight distance, terrain and accident or incident history (Source: Att 08.14 GPS_Footpath Strategy_2024 Reduced.pdf, p.13). Road type assigns 8 points to arterial roads, 6 points to link roads, 4 points to collector urban roads, 3 points to collector rural roads, 2 points to local access urban roads and 1 point to local access rural roads (Source: Att 08.14 GPS_Footpath Strategy_2024 Reduced.pdf, p.13). Sight distance can add 1-5 points where visibility is restricted, while unrestricted sightlines for 100 metres in either direction score 0 (Source: Att 08.14 GPS_Footpath Strategy_2024 Reduced.pdf, p.13). Terrain can add 1-5 points where gradients, unstable surfaces or loose ground create access problems, while flat, stable ground at 1:30 or gentler scores 0 (Source: Att 08.14 GPS_Footpath Strategy_2024 Reduced.pdf, p.13). Incident history can add up to 10 points, with fatalities or serious injury at the highest end of the scoring band (Source: Att 08.14 GPS_Footpath Strategy_2024 Reduced.pdf, p.13).

Connectivity is weighted through proximity to services, alternate access and broader links (Source: Att 08.14 GPS_Footpath Strategy_2024 Reduced.pdf, p.14). The matrix gives 10 points for a school or kindergarten within 800 metres, 8 points for shops or a neighbourhood activity centre within 800 metres, 6 points each for a children’s playground, health facility or community facility within 800 metres, 4 points for a commercial development or employment precinct within 800 metres, and 5 points for a bus stop within 400 metres (Source: Att 08.14 GPS_Footpath Strategy_2024 Reduced.pdf, p.14). The matrix notes that 400 metres is treated as approximately a five-minute walk and 800 metres as approximately a 10-minute walk for a healthy adult (Source: Att 08.14 GPS_Footpath Strategy_2024 Reduced.pdf, p.14).

The alternate-access criterion is a useful safeguard against overbuilding duplicate paths. A proposed path receives 5 points if no alternate path exists, but receives negative scores where usable paths already exist in the same location, on the other side of the road or in adjacent streets (Source: Att 08.14 GPS_Footpath Strategy_2024 Reduced.pdf, p.14). This means a route beside a service may still fall in priority if the same access function is already being met nearby (Source: Att 08.14 GPS_Footpath Strategy_2024 Reduced.pdf, p.14).

Accessibility gives weight to community-identified need and local population density (Source: Att 08.14 GPS_Footpath Strategy_2024 Reduced.pdf, p.14). Demand can score 4-5 points where the person or people most affected are mobility impaired, and multiple requests from separate households can score 1-3 points based on bands of fewer than 5 requests, 5-20 requests and more than 20 requests (Source: Att 08.14 GPS_Footpath Strategy_2024 Reduced.pdf, p.14). Population density gives 5 points for more than 25 persons per square kilometre, 1-4 points for 6-25 persons per square kilometre, and 0 points for fewer than 5 persons per square kilometre (Source: Att 08.14 GPS_Footpath Strategy_2024 Reduced.pdf, p.14).

The negative-impact category can reduce project priority where a path would disturb natural systems (Source: Att 08.14 GPS_Footpath Strategy_2024 Reduced.pdf, p.15). Significant vegetation removal involving mature trees, threatened species or high-value habitat scores -8; high-impact vegetation removal scores -6; moderate impact vegetation removal scores -4; low-impact removal scores -2; and no vegetation removal scores 0 (Source: Att 08.14 GPS_Footpath Strategy_2024 Reduced.pdf, p.15). The practical planning consequence is that environmental impact is not treated only as a later approvals issue; it is embedded early in project prioritisation and can push otherwise useful links down the delivery list (Source: Att 08.14 GPS_Footpath Strategy_2024 Reduced.pdf, p.15).

The strategic category gives 1-5 points where a proposed path aligns with other Council policies and strategies, and gives 2 points where a path is already referenced under the Tracks and Trails Strategy (Source: Att 08.14 GPS_Footpath Strategy_2024 Reduced.pdf, p.15). The policy-alignment list includes the Teesdale Structure Plan 2022, Inverleigh Structure Plan 2019, Smythesdale Urban Design Framework 2006, Bannockburn Urban Design Framework 2011, Bannockburn Growth Plan 2021, Bannockburn South East Precinct Structure Plan, Bruce Creek Master Plan 2009, Northern Streetscapes Project and Moorabool River Reserve Master Plan (Source: Att 08.14 GPS_Footpath Strategy_2024 Reduced.pdf, p.15).

Priority Works and Township Focus

The executive summary identifies the highest-priority new path or upgrade for each of the 10 largest townships: Bannockburn on Geelong Road; Teesdale on Teesdale-Inverleigh Road; Inverleigh on Hamilton Highway; Haddon on Taylors Road; Smythesdale on Glenelg Highway north of Heales Street; Lethbridge on Midland Highway; Batesford on Midland Highway; Meredith on Staughton Street East; Smythes Creek on Glenelg Highway; and Linton on Glenelg Highway south of Gillespie Street (Source: Att 08.14 GPS_Footpath Strategy_2024 Reduced.pdf, p.4).

These priorities show that several first-ranked projects sit on higher-order roads rather than only local streets: Hamilton Highway, Glenelg Highway and Midland Highway each appear in the town-level priority list (Source: Att 08.14 GPS_Footpath Strategy_2024 Reduced.pdf, p.4). The planning implication is that pedestrian access in small townships is often tied to roads that also carry regional movement, so footpath delivery may require coordination around road safety, frontage conditions, drainage, roadside vegetation and authority responsibilities rather than simple local-street construction (Source: Att 08.14 GPS_Footpath Strategy_2024 Reduced.pdf, pp.4, 13, 15).

The strategy maps township priorities using two walking catchment circles around key community infrastructure: 400 metres, described as approximately a five-minute walk, and 1 kilometre, described as approximately a 15-minute walk (Source: Att 08.14 GPS_Footpath Strategy_2024 Reduced.pdf, p.16). This creates an accessibility test around actual destinations rather than measuring path length alone (Source: Att 08.14 GPS_Footpath Strategy_2024 Reduced.pdf, p.16).

Delivery Constraint

Council’s stated annual budget of approximately $200,000 for new footpath installations or upgrades is the central implementation constraint (Source: Att 08.14 GPS_Footpath Strategy_2024 Reduced.pdf, p.16). Because the strategy covers 10 township priority areas immediately and is intended to apply to all 56 townships over its life, the budget means the ranked list cannot be read as a guaranteed construction sequence (Source: Att 08.14 GPS_Footpath Strategy_2024 Reduced.pdf, pp.5, 16).

The strategy separates priority from feasibility. It states that priority does not change merely because a project costs more or less than another project; instead, financial feasibility is a separate metric considered during delivery (Source: Att 08.14 GPS_Footpath Strategy_2024 Reduced.pdf, p.16). This is a sound governance distinction because it prevents low-cost projects from automatically displacing higher-need but more difficult links, while still allowing Council to stage works within available resources (Source: Att 08.14 GPS_Footpath Strategy_2024 Reduced.pdf, p.16).

Current Status

The manifest includes a June 2024 draft version titled Footpath Strategy 2024 Draft and an August 2024 Council attachment titled GPS_Footpath Strategy_2024 Reduced (Source: Att 7.09 Footpath Strategy 2024 reduced.pdf, p.1; Source: Att 08.14 GPS_Footpath Strategy_2024 Reduced.pdf, p.2). The final strategy itself is dated June 2024 in the document footer, while the later August attachment indicates the document had moved beyond the draft attachment stage in the available corpus (Source: Att 08.14 GPS_Footpath Strategy_2024 Reduced.pdf, p.2; Source: Att 08.14 GPS_Footpath Strategy_2024 Reduced.pdf, p.4).

Dependencies

Blocks: No statutory land-use approval is directly blocked by the strategy, because it is a prioritisation and delivery framework rather than a planning scheme control (Source: Att 08.14 GPS_Footpath Strategy_2024 Reduced.pdf, pp.4, 11-16).
Blocked by: Delivery is constrained by the approximately $200,000 annual budget, project feasibility, stakeholder agreement, site conditions, timing and alignment with other Council strategies (Source: Att 08.14 GPS_Footpath Strategy_2024 Reduced.pdf, p.16).
Informed by: The strategy is informed by desktop analysis, fieldwork, community consultation, the October 2023 Issues Paper, the online Have Your Say process and review by Council’s project steering group (Source: Att 08.14 GPS_Footpath Strategy_2024 Reduced.pdf, pp.5, 10-11).
Implements: The strategy supports Council Plan 2021-25 liveability and health-and-wellbeing objectives, the Tracks and Trails Strategy, growth and structure plans, the Climate Emergency Plan, the Environment Strategy 2019-2027 and the Municipal Public Health and Wellbeing Action Plan 2021-2025 (Source: Att 08.14 GPS_Footpath Strategy_2024 Reduced.pdf, p.7).
Conflicts with: The strategy does not identify a direct policy conflict, but it embeds potential environmental conflict through negative scoring for vegetation removal and natural-system disturbance (Source: Att 08.14 GPS_Footpath Strategy_2024 Reduced.pdf, p.15).

Cross-Jurisdictional Links

Golden Plains Shire is positioned between Geelong and Ballarat, and the strategy notes that the municipality’s growth areas are proximate to these regional hubs (Source: Att 08.14 GPS_Footpath Strategy_2024 Reduced.pdf, pp.5, 7). The cross-jurisdictional relevance is mainly regional movement and active-transport connectivity rather than formal shared governance, because the available documents do not include Department of Transport and Planning, Regional Roads Victoria, neighbouring council or infrastructure authority evidence on highway-interface delivery (Source: Att 08.14 GPS_Footpath Strategy_2024 Reduced.pdf, pp.4, 7, 13).

Gaps in This Analysis

The extracted text files for both source documents contain metadata and page markers but no machine-readable body text, so this page relies on visual inspection of the image-based PDFs rather than normal text extraction (Source: Att 08.14 GPS_Footpath Strategy_2024 Reduced.pdf; Source: Att 7.09 Footpath Strategy 2024 reduced.pdf). This limits confidence in fine-grained tabular transcription, especially the full township-by-township ranking tables and map annotations in the appendices (Source: Att 08.14 GPS_Footpath Strategy_2024 Reduced.pdf, pp.17-43).

The available corpus does not include the Council report or minutes confirming the exact adoption resolution, the detailed cost estimate for each priority path, the annual capital works program that will fund implementation, or authority advice for priority paths on Hamilton Highway, Glenelg Highway and Midland Highway (Source: Att 08.14 GPS_Footpath Strategy_2024 Reduced.pdf, pp.4, 16). Without those documents, this analysis can explain the prioritisation mechanism and first-ranked township projects, but cannot confirm delivery timing, project-by-project cost, land tenure requirements, road-authority approvals or construction staging (Source: Att 08.14 GPS_Footpath Strategy_2024 Reduced.pdf, pp.4, 16).

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