Grange Planning Brain

title: Planning Scheme Amendment C285gben - Corrections Amendment council: greater-bendigo state: vic category: amendment classification: MAJOR status: in-progress last_compiled: 2026-05-31 source_docs:

  • agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf
  • agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-minutes-april-20-2026.pdf

Planning Scheme Amendment C285gben - Corrections Amendment

Amendment C285gben is a scheme-maintenance amendment with three practical effects: it corrects zoning and overlay anomalies across many dispersed parcels, removes controls that Council considers redundant on public conservation and park land, and adds or corrects heritage controls where mapping or process errors have been identified (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, p.32). Its main planning consequence is not a single precinct-scale land supply change, but a municipality-wide clean-up of the legal planning map so that public land, private residential land, agricultural land, Coliban Water land, and heritage places are controlled by zones and overlays that better match ownership, use, and intended management responsibilities (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, pp.101-111).

Background

The amendment was prepared by Greater Bendigo City Council as the planning authority and was made at Council request (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, p.101). Council resolved on 22 April 2024 to request authorisation from the Minister for Planning, prepare the amendment generally in accordance with the exhibited documentation, place it on exhibition after authorisation, and allow the Director Strategy and Growth to make minor changes that did not alter the amendment’s overall intent or that were requested by the Department of Transport and Planning (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, pp.38-39). The Minister authorised preparation and exhibition on 22 August 2025, subject to conditions, and the agenda records that the main post-authorisation change was deletion of three properties so that proposed rezonings were consistent with Clause 13.02-1S on bushfire planning (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, p.39).

The amendment was exhibited from 23 October 2025 to 22 December 2025 after an administrative notification issue extended the exhibition period beyond the originally stated one-month exhibition window (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, p.37). Exhibition included approximately 800 letters to affected owners, occupiers, adjoining owners and occupiers, Government Gazette notices on 23 October 2025 and 20 November 2025, notices to prescribed ministers and relevant authorities, newspaper notices in the Bendigo Advertiser and McIvor Times, and access to amendment material through Council and Department of Transport and Planning websites (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, p.37).

Analysis

The amendment applies across Bendigo, California Gully, Eaglehawk, Epsom, Flora Hill, Golden Gully, Golden Square, Jackass Flat, Kangaroo Flat, Kennington, Marong, Quarry Hill, Spring Gully, West Bendigo, Heathcote, Argyle, Big Hill, Lockwood South and Shelbourne (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, p.33). The explanatory report states that the amendment is primarily required to correct zoning anomalies or mapping errors affecting 40 properties, including public, publicly managed and private land (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, p.108).

The mechanism is simple: where a parcel is public open space, conservation land, utility land, private residential land or farming land, the amendment changes the zone so the planning scheme stops treating that parcel as something different (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, pp.108-111). In practical terms, this is like relabelling boxes in a storeroom: the contents may already be there, but the wrong label creates confusion about who manages the land, what permissions apply, and which planning controls should be triggered (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, pp.108-111).

The largest category is public or publicly managed land that is wholly or partly in zones Council considers inappropriate because of ownership, current use or historical use (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, p.108). The explanatory report says 23 of the 40 properties are publicly owned or managed and are wrongly zoned wholly or partly General Residential Zone, Low Density Residential Zone Schedule 1, Industrial 1 Zone, Public Use Zone Schedule 1, Public Use Zone Schedule 7 or Rural Conservation Zone Schedule 1, and the amendment proposes to rezone those properties to Public Conservation and Resource Zone or Public Park and Recreation Zone (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, p.108). Council’s stated effect is that public open space and conservation land will be controlled by zones that better reflect public ownership, conservation management, creek corridor protection and park use (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, pp.108, 132-135).

The private-land category works in the opposite direction: 17 of the 40 properties are privately owned but partly affected by public-style zones such as Public Conservation and Resource Zone, Public Park and Recreation Zone or Public Use Zone Schedule 1, and the amendment proposes to rezone them to Farming Zone Schedule 1, Low Density Residential Zone Schedule 1 or General Residential Zone to reflect private ownership, current use and surrounding zoning (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, p.108). This includes Townsend Street properties in Flora Hill, Mahon Avenue and Swalling Crescent properties in Kennington, 1800 Calder Alternative Highway in Marong, and CA 5 Harris Road in Shelbourne (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, pp.130-131).

Residential Rezoning at 31 Ayres Street, Argyle

The amendment includes one more substantive private rezoning: approximately 2.2 hectares at 31 Ayres Street, Argyle would move from Industrial 3 Zone to Neighbourhood Residential Zone Schedule 4, identified as Heathcote Residential Areas (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, p.102). The explanatory report links this rezoning to the Heathcote Township Plan, which identified the land as suitable for residential rezoning subject to bushfire risk being addressed (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, pp.108, 130).

The bushfire mechanism is the binding planning issue for this parcel (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, pp.108, 116-117). A Phoenix Wildfire Management report prepared in 2023 concluded that future development can achieve BAL-12.5 if development observes defendable-space setbacks from the northern and southern boundaries, and Council proposes Design and Development Overlay Schedule 35 to specify bushfire-related setbacks, vegetation management and access requirements (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, pp.108, 117). The Country Fire Authority reviewed the bushfire report and supported rezoning 31 Ayres Street to a residential zone in a letter dated 29 January 2024 (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, p.118).

The practical consequence is that the amendment does not simply remove an industrial control and leave future housing unmanaged; it pairs the residential zone with a design overlay that makes bushfire mitigation part of future development assessment (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, pp.106, 117). The source material does not provide a dwelling yield, subdivision concept, servicing assessment, traffic assessment or development contributions assessment for this 2.2 hectare parcel, so this page cannot quantify future lot yield or infrastructure demand from the rezoning (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, pp.101-118).

Public Land, Open Space and Waterway Controls

Several zoning corrections convert Council-owned or public agency land from residential, industrial or other zones into Public Park and Recreation Zone or Public Conservation and Resource Zone (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, pp.102-105). Examples include 140 Aspinall Street, Golden Square from General Residential Zone to Public Park and Recreation Zone over approximately 7.6 hectares, CA 2 Averys Road, Jackass Flat from part Low Density Residential Zone Schedule 1 and part Public Use Zone Schedule 7 to Public Conservation and Resource Zone over approximately 14.9 hectares, and Allotments 2010 and 2011 at Big Hill from Rural Conservation Zone Schedule 1 to Public Conservation and Resource Zone over approximately 57.8 hectares (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, pp.102-104).

The explanatory report ties several Council-owned rezonings to the Greater Bendigo Public Space Plan 2019 and to creek corridor management (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, pp.108, 132-134). For example, 40 Westwood Drive is described as part of a key public open space along a creek line, 21 Rankins Lane is described as part of the Eaglehawk Creek corridor, Lot RES1 Crusoe Road is described as part of the Bendigo Creek corridor, and several Kangaroo Flat parcels are described as public open space or waterway reserve land associated with Bendigo Creek or its tributaries (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, pp.132-134).

The planning effect is protective rather than growth-enabling: land already used or intended as open space is moved into a zone that better signals public land status, conservation purpose or park management purpose (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, pp.108, 132-134). The source material does not provide land valuations, acquisition history, open-space hierarchy analysis, biodiversity mapping or waterway corridor widths for these parcels, so this page cannot measure the precise conservation, recreation or hydrological benefit of each correction (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, pp.101-135).

Vegetation Protection Overlay: Redundancy Versus Community Assurance

The most contested issue is the proposed deletion of Vegetation Protection Overlay Schedule 2 from public land in or associated with Bendigo Regional Park and other public conservation or parkland settings (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, pp.34-36). The amendment proposes to delete VPO2 from ten listed areas, including parts of Bright Street in California Gully, Hill Street in Eaglehawk, Ham Street and 20-28 McCullagh Street in Golden Gully, 70-74 Woodward Road in Golden Gully, 140 Aspinall Street in Golden Square, 14 Connelly Street and 47-85 Houston Street in Quarry Hill, and CA 190D Faugh-A-Ballagh Road in Spring Gully (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, pp.104-105).

Council’s argument is that VPO2 duplicates public land management or conservation zoning where land is zoned Public Conservation and Resource Zone or Public Park and Recreation Zone (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, pp.35-36, 110). The agenda cites the Victorian Government Practitioner’s Guide to Victoria’s Planning Schemes 2025, stating that overlays should not be applied to public land where the overlay duplicates the function of the public land manager (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, p.36). Council also states that Parks Victoria, as the public land manager for Bendigo Regional Park, has responsibility under the Parks Victoria Act 2018 for protecting, conserving and enhancing natural and cultural values (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, p.36).

The community concern is different from the legal-control argument (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, pp.34-36). Four opposing submissions raised concern about removal of VPO2 from public land near submitters’ properties, especially vegetation protection in Bendigo Regional Park, and two submissions remained unresolved when the 20 April 2026 report went to Council (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, pp.32, 34-35). Council’s officer response to Submitter 1 was that 20-28 Maccullagh Street, Golden Gully is zoned Public Park and Recreation Zone, forms part of Bendigo Regional Park, and is managed by Parks Victoria, so VPO2 is considered redundant (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, pp.34, 40). Council’s officer response to Submitter 2 was that CA190D Faugh-A-Ballagh Road, Spring Gully is zoned Public Conservation and Resource Zone, forms part of Bendigo Regional Park, and is managed by Parks Victoria, so VPO2 is also considered redundant there (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, pp.34-35, 40).

The cause-and-effect issue for the Panel is whether duplicate controls should be removed even when residents experience the overlay as a visible safeguard (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, pp.34-36). If the Panel accepts Council’s position, the scheme becomes cleaner and relies on public land zoning plus Parks Victoria management for vegetation protection on these sites (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, pp.35-36, 110). If the Panel accepts the unresolved submitters’ concern, the amendment may need to retain VPO2 on one or more public land parcels or provide clearer evidence that the replacement zoning and management framework will protect the same vegetation values in practice (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, pp.34-36).

Heritage Overlay Corrections and New Heritage Protection

The amendment both removes Heritage Overlay mapping where Council says it is wrongly applied and applies new or corrected heritage controls where significance has been identified or where an earlier process error occurred (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, pp.105-111). It proposes to reduce HO929 at 7-9 St Andrews Avenue, Bendigo so that it applies only to the parcel containing the Former Doherty’s Garage, because the Worker Cottage parcel is now vacant after a demolition permit for a building assessed as having no heritage significance (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, p.109). It proposes to delete HO755 from 63-77 Ebden Street, Heathcote because the former church heritage place is on adjoining land at 59 Ebden Street, and it proposes to delete HO525 from Lovero Court and Weir Court lots so that Hope Park remains controlled at 12 Weir Court (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, pp.109-110).

The most spatially complex new heritage control is HO940 for Sheard’s House and Orchard Wall at Quarry Hill (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, pp.105, 110-111). Council states that a planning permit application to subdivide nearby land at 13 Tennyson Street led to assessment of a stone wall along the northern lot boundary of that property and the stone dwelling and wall at 216 Carpenter Street (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, p.110). A citation and statement of significance were then commissioned and confirmed local heritage significance, leading to the proposed Heritage Overlay over 216 Carpenter Street, parts of 23 nearby properties, and adjoining road reservations to protect the stone dwelling and stone wall from demolition and inappropriate development (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, pp.110-111).

The Marong heritage control is a process-correction item rather than a fresh significance assessment in the source material (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, p.111). Council states that 1320 Calder Highway, Marong had already been identified as having heritage significance but was removed from Amendment C263gben because notice was given to the wrong landowner, and C285gben includes that property so protection can be progressed with corrected process (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, p.111).

Clause 53.01 Public Open Space Contribution Map

The amendment proposes minor text and mapping changes to the Schedule to Clause 53.01 for Public Open Space Contribution and Subdivision, including updated street names for Havlin Street East and Charleston Place on the Bendigo locality map (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, pp.36, 107). The exhibited material accidentally introduced a boundary error on the Locality of Bendigo map by showing the southern boundary along the railway line when it should follow Breen Street and Gladstone Street (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, p.36). Council resolved to advise the Panel that the only intended Clause 53.01 changes are the two street-name updates and that the current locality boundary is accurate (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-minutes-april-20-2026.pdf, p.19).

The schedule extract in the agenda shows a 2 percent public open space contribution for residential subdivisions within the locality of Bendigo, 6.3 percent for land within the former Golden Square Primary School site at 6 Laurel Street, Golden Square, and 5 percent for all other residential subdivisions (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, p.135). The amendment material does not state that those contribution rates are changing, so the analytical issue is map accuracy rather than a change to the rate structure (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, pp.36, 135).

Submissions and Contested Issues

Nine submissions were received: five opposed the amendment and four supported it (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, p.34). Three supporting submissions were from public authorities and one supporting submission was from Taungurung Land and Waters Council (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, p.34). Four opposing submissions concerned removal of VPO2 from public land near submitters’ properties, and one opposing submission requested addition of land to the amendment (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, p.34).

Three opposing submissions were resolved before the Council decision: one submitter concerned about 140 Aspinall Street withdrew after officers clarified that the amendment rezones the land from General Residential Zone to Public Park and Recreation Zone and is expected to facilitate ongoing parkland use, and another submitter withdrew after officers advised that 42 and 44 Rohs Road, East Bendigo could not be added at this stage but would be assessed in a future corrections amendment (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, p.41). The two unresolved submissions are therefore not objections to the whole corrections program; they focus on whether removing VPO2 from Bendigo Regional Park land weakens vegetation protection or public assurance (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, pp.32, 34-36).

Current Status

Council considered the submissions on 20 April 2026, endorsed the officer response as the basis for Council’s submission to a Planning Panel, requested the Minister for Planning to appoint a Panel, referred all submissions to that Panel under Part 8 of the Planning and Environment Act 1987, and resolved to advise submitters of Council’s decision (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-minutes-april-20-2026.pdf, pp.18-20). The motion was carried 7 votes to 0, with Cr Shivali Chatley absent and no votes against or abstentions recorded (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-minutes-april-20-2026.pdf, p.20). The next statutory step is independent Panel consideration, after which a further Council report is expected before any adoption decision (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, p.32).

Dependencies

  • Blocks: The amendment blocks final correction of the listed zoning, overlay and ordinance anomalies until Panel consideration, Council adoption, Ministerial approval and gazettal are completed (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, pp.32, 36-37).
  • Blocked by: The amendment is blocked by resolution of the statutory amendment process after two unresolved submissions about vegetation protection were referred to a Planning Panel (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-minutes-april-20-2026.pdf, pp.18-20).
  • Informed by: The amendment is informed by the Heathcote Township Plan for the 31 Ayres Street residential rezoning, a Phoenix Wildfire Management bushfire report for 31 Ayres Street, heritage citations and statements of significance for new or corrected heritage places, the Greater Bendigo Public Space Plan 2019 for several public land corrections, and preliminary comments from CFA, DEECA, the City Property Unit and Coliban Water (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, pp.108, 111, 124, 130-135).
  • Implements: The amendment implements maintenance of the Greater Bendigo Planning Scheme by correcting maps, correcting text, aligning land zoning with ownership and use, rationalising redundant overlays, and updating heritage schedule references and incorporated statements of significance (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, pp.101-111).
  • Conflicts with: The main policy tension is between scheme simplification through deletion of duplicate VPO2 controls and community concern that removal of a visible vegetation overlay may reduce protection or accountability for Bendigo Regional Park land (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, pp.34-36, 40).

The amendment includes agency-linked land and controls but the provided sources do not identify a cross-council planning consequence (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, pp.101-111). The key institutional links are with Parks Victoria and DEECA for public conservation and regional park land, Coliban Water for utility land at 28 Howard Street and former pipeline easement land at 1A Holland Court, CFA for bushfire assessment at 31 Ayres Street, and Taungurung Land and Waters Council as a supporting submitter (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, pp.34, 36, 108, 118, 124, 130-131).

Gaps in This Analysis

The available corpus is thin for a MAJOR-classified amendment because it contains the April 2026 agenda and minutes only, although the agenda embeds several amendment attachments (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, pp.39-135; Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-minutes-april-20-2026.pdf, pp.18-20). The missing primary documents are the standalone exhibited amendment documents, full mapped amendment plans at readable resolution, incorporated statements of significance, the Phoenix Wildfire Management bushfire report, the full Greater Bendigo Public Space Plan mapping relied on for public land rezonings, and any eventual Panel report (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, pp.39, 108, 111, 118, 132-135). Because those documents are not available in the manifest, this page cannot independently test the heritage significance findings, bushfire modelling, individual parcel boundaries, open-space hierarchy rationale, biodiversity values, or the Panel’s final reasoning (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, pp.101-135).

Graph View