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title: C285gben Public Land Rezoning Corrections to PCRZ and PPRZ council: greater-bendigo state: vic category: amendment classification: MINOR status: active last_compiled: 2026-05-31 source_docs:

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

C285gben Public Land Rezoning Corrections to PCRZ and PPRZ

Amendment C285gben is mainly a planning-scheme housekeeping amendment, but its public-land component has a clear spatial function: it moves approximately 107.9 hectares of publicly owned or managed land into public conservation or recreation zones so the planning controls better match ownership, management and existing open-space or conservation use (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, pp.102-104). The practical planning effect is not to create a new growth area, but to reduce zoning ambiguity across bushland reserves, creek corridors, national park land and local public open space, especially along the Bendigo Creek corridor, Eaglehawk Creek corridor, Bendigo Regional Park and California Gully Bushland Reserve (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, pp.108, 132-135).

The contested issue is not the land supply impact of the rezoning. It is whether deleting the Vegetation Protection Overlay Schedule 2 from public land weakens vegetation protection, or whether the public land zones plus Parks Victoria management responsibilities already do the same protective work (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, pp.34-36). Council officers concluded that the overlay is redundant on PCRZ and PPRZ land because the zones and public land manager responsibilities already protect native vegetation and wildlife, but two submissions remained unresolved and were recommended for referral to an independent Planning Panel (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, pp.32, 36-37).

Background

C285gben was prepared by Greater Bendigo City Council as planning authority and made at Council’s 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, place it on exhibition, and allow minor changes that did not alter the amendment’s overall intent (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, including deletion of three properties so proposed rezonings were consistent with Clause 13.02-1S 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 initial exhibition period was extended because a minor administrative error required additional notifications (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, p.37). Exhibition included about 800 letters to affected owners, occupiers and adjoining owners or occupiers, notices in the Government Gazette on 23 October 2025 and 20 November 2025, notices to prescribed ministers and relevant authorities, newspaper notices, and publication on 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

What the Public-Land Rezoning Mechanism Does

The public-land rezoning component works like relabelling storage boxes so the label matches what is actually inside. Land already functioning as public bushland, parkland, creek corridor or public open space is being moved out of private or utility-style zones such as GRZ, LDRZ1, IN1Z, PUZ7 and RCZ1, and into PCRZ or PPRZ where those zones better match public ownership, public management and existing use (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, p.108). Council describes 23 publicly owned or managed properties as being wrongly zoned wholly or partly GRZ, LDRZ1, IN1Z, PUZ1, PUZ7 or RCZ1, with the amendment proposing to rezone those properties to PCRZ or PPRZ as more appropriate public-land zones (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, p.108).

The largest single correction is at Big Hill, where approximately 57.8 hectares at Allotments 2010 and 2011, Parish of Mandurang, Calder Highway, is proposed to move from RCZ1 to PCRZ (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, p.101). The source explains that this land is part of Greater Bendigo National Park, is publicly owned, and is jointly managed by Parks Victoria and the Dja Dja Wurrung Clans Aboriginal Corporation, so PCRZ aligns it with the remaining national park zoning (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, p.133).

The second major group is at California Gully, where approximately 15.6 hectares is proposed to move to PCRZ across Crown allotments on Bright Street (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, pp.101-102). The stated mechanism is consistency with California Gully Bushland Reserve, which is already zoned PCRZ and managed by Parks Victoria (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, p.134).

A third concentration is Jackass Flat, where approximately 14.9 hectares at CA2 Averys Road is proposed to move from part LDRZ1 and part PUZ7 to PCRZ because it forms part of the Jackass Flat Nature Conservation Reserve (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, pp.103, 134). This correction also removes DPO4 from that land because DPO4 applies to LDRZ land, not public land zoned PCRZ (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, p.110).

The amendment also uses PPRZ to consolidate open-space and waterway functions. At Golden Square, approximately 7.6 hectares at 140 Aspinall Street is proposed to move from GRZ to PPRZ because it was set aside as a Bushland Conservation Reserve under planning permit DS/1032/2013 for an 82-lot adjoining subdivision and is now in Council ownership (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, pp.103, 132). Along Kangaroo Flat waterway land, six small public sites totalling about 2.78 hectares are proposed to move to PPRZ to reflect Bendigo Creek corridor, tributary, reserve or public open-space functions (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, pp.103-104, 132-133).

Conservation Zone Versus Recreation Zone

The amendment uses PCRZ where the dominant planning purpose is public conservation land, national park land, bushland reserve or nature conservation reserve. Examples include Big Hill national park land, California Gully bushland reserve land, Jackass Flat Nature Conservation Reserve land, and land forming part of Bendigo Regional Park at Golden Gully (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, pp.101-104, 133-135). The planning mechanism is that PCRZ already carries conservation and resource protection purposes, so it is treated as the more direct control for public conservation land than retaining private residential or low-density residential zoning under public ownership (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, pp.108, 110).

The amendment uses PPRZ where the dominant planning purpose is public open space, recreation land, reserve land or creek corridor management. Examples include public open space at 22 Gladeville Drive, 21 Rankins Lane, Victoria Street, 21-23 Walls Street and 40 Westwood Drive in the Eaglehawk and California Gully area; Bendigo Creek corridor land in Epsom and Kangaroo Flat; and the bushland reserve at 140 Aspinall Street, Golden Square (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, pp.102-104, 132-134). This matters because PPRZ signals that the land is to remain part of the public open-space system rather than being treated as ordinary residential or industrial land on the planning maps (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, p.108).

Council states that several Council-owned GRZ sites proposed for PPRZ were either recommended for rezoning in the Greater Bendigo Public Space Plan 2019 or were transferred into Council ownership as public open-space contributions during residential subdivision processes (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, p.108). The downstream effect is administrative but important: PPRZ gives clearer public assurance that land obtained or held for public open space will be retained and managed for that purpose (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, p.108).

Spatial Pattern and Planning Implications

The amendment is not one site-specific rezoning. It is a distributed correction 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, pp.33, 101). The public-land rezoning pattern is strongest in four systems: regional conservation land, bushland reserves, creek corridors and subdivision-created local reserves (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, pp.132-135).

For the creek corridors, the mechanism is corridor continuity. PPRZ corrections at Eaglehawk Creek, Bendigo Creek and Bendigo Creek tributaries reduce map fragmentation by aligning small public parcels with the surrounding open-space or riparian corridor zoning (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, pp.132-134). This does not create new waterway land, but it makes the planning scheme more legible for decisions about future public open-space management, reserve works and adjacent land use interfaces (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, p.108).

For the conservation reserves, the mechanism is consistency between land manager and zone. Parks Victoria-managed land in Bendigo Regional Park, California Gully Bushland Reserve and Greater Bendigo National Park is proposed to be placed into PCRZ where that zone matches the conservation management purpose (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, pp.36, 133-135). This matters because the officer response relies on the public land manager’s statutory role as part of the justification for removing duplicate vegetation overlays (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, p.36).

For subdivision-created reserves, the mechanism is completion of the planning chain. At 140 Aspinall Street, Golden Square, the land was set aside as a Bushland Conservation Reserve through a planning permit for an adjoining 82-lot subdivision, and rezoning to PPRZ now aligns the planning map with the reserve outcome created through that earlier permit process (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, p.132). Similar logic applies to 6 Clarcoll Crescent South and 58 Elvey Drive, Kangaroo Flat, where the source links the reserves to approved subdivision landscaping or residential subdivision permits (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, pp.132-133).

Vegetation Protection Overlay Removal

The main contested public-land issue is the proposed deletion of VPO2 from eight publicly owned properties, including land at Bright Street California Gully, 20-28 McCullagh Street Golden Gully, CA2061 Ham Street Golden Gully, 70-74 Woodward Road Golden Gully, CA190D Faugh-A-Ballagh Road Spring Gully, 14 Connelly Street Quarry Hill and 47-85 Houston Street Quarry Hill (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, pp.104-105, 110). Council’s rationale is that PCRZ already protects and conserves the natural environment and processes including native vegetation, while PPRZ can protect and conserve areas of significance where appropriate (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, p.110).

Four opposing submissions raised concerns about vegetation protection, with two later withdrawn after clarification and two remaining unresolved for Panel consideration (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, pp.34-35). Submitter 1 objected to removal of VPO2 from 20-28 McCullagh Street, Golden Gully, which is part of Bendigo Regional Park and zoned PPRZ; the officer response was that the zoning and management arrangements are sufficient to protect vegetation and wildlife (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, pp.34-35). Submitter 2 objected to removal of VPO2 from CA190D Faugh-A-Ballagh Road, Spring Gully, which is part of Bendigo Regional Park and zoned PCRZ; the officer response was that the zone and Parks Victoria management are sufficient to protect native vegetation and wildlife (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, p.35).

The officer position relies on the Victorian Government Practitioner’s Guide to Victoria’s Planning Schemes 2025, which is reported as recommending 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 is responsible under the Parks Victoria Act 2018 for protecting, conserving and enhancing natural and cultural values of Bendigo Regional Park, and that this statutory responsibility exceeds the protection offered by VPO2 (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, p.36). The source notes that VPO2 was applied in June 2000, before Bendigo Regional Park was established in 2002 (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, p.36).

The planning risk is a perception and governance risk rather than a quantified land-supply risk. If the Panel accepts Council’s reasoning, the amendment will simplify controls by removing duplicate permit triggers while retaining conservation responsibility through zone purpose and public land management (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, pp.36, 110). If the Panel accepts the submitters’ concern, the amendment may need to retain VPO2 on some public land or provide stronger explanation of how vegetation decisions will be controlled after overlay deletion (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, pp.34-36).

Reverse Corrections: Removing Public Zones from Private Land

The amendment also corrects the opposite problem: private land wrongly affected by public land zones. Five small residential properties at Townsend Street, Flora Hill, totalling approximately 383 square metres, are proposed to move from PPRZ to GRZ because they are privately owned and already developed with dwellings (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, pp.103, 130-131). Two rural private properties are proposed to move from PCRZ to FZ1: approximately 1,300 square metres at 1800 Calder Alternative Highway, Marong, and approximately 1.2 hectares at CA5 Harris Road, Shelbourne (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, pp.104, 131).

This reverse correction matters because it shows the amendment is not simply expanding public conservation or recreation zoning. It is trying to make zoning match ownership and use in both directions: public land into public zones, and private residential or farming land out of public zones (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, pp.108, 130-131). The affected private land removed from PPRZ or PCRZ is small, at approximately 1.37 hectares total, so the direct development-capacity effect is limited and localised (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, pp.103-104, 130-131).

Land Supply and Housing Effect

The public-land PCRZ and PPRZ corrections are not presented as a housing-supply amendment. Council states that the proposed zones generally reflect current land uses or ownership and were chosen to be consistent with surrounding zones where appropriate (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, p.112). Council also states that the amendment makes minor rezoning changes and that, where small areas move from non-urban to urban zones, the changes correct errors or reflect current land use or surrounding land use rather than enabling significant new urban growth (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, p.113).

The amendment includes one separate residential rezoning at 31 Ayres Street, Argyle, involving approximately 2.2 hectares from IN3Z to NRZ4 with DDO35 bushfire controls (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, pp.101, 109). That site is outside the public-land PCRZ/PPRZ correction mechanism and is based on the Heathcote Township Plan 2024 and a bushfire assessment that found BAL-12.5 could be achieved with specified setbacks (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, p.109). The public-land component therefore should be read mainly as a mapping and governance correction, not as a material housing-yield initiative (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, pp.108, 113).

Current Status

As reported to the 20 April 2026 Council meeting, C285gben had completed public exhibition and received nine submissions, with five opposing and four supporting submissions (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, pp.32, 34). Three opposing submissions had been withdrawn after officer clarification, leaving two unresolved submissions about vegetation protection and removal of VPO2 from Bendigo Regional Park land (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, pp.34-36).

The officer recommendation was that Council note the explanatory report, endorse the officer response to submissions as the basis for Council’s Panel submission, request the Minister for Planning to appoint a Planning Panel, refer submissions to the Panel, and advise submitters of Council’s decision (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, p.33). The explanatory report listed indicative Panel dates of a directions hearing in the week starting Monday 18 May 2026 and a Panel hearing in the week starting Monday 15 June 2026 (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, p.101).

Dependencies

  • Blocks: Final correction of public-land zoning anomalies across approximately 107.9 hectares of public conservation, recreation, reserve and creek-corridor land cannot be completed until the amendment proceeds through Panel, Council adoption and Ministerial approval (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, pp.33, 101-104).
  • Blocked by: The amendment is procedurally blocked by unresolved submissions unless Council changes or abandons the amendment; the officer recommendation is to refer submissions to an independent Planning Panel under Part 8 of the Planning and Environment Act 1987 (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, pp.36-37).
  • Informed by: The public-land rezoning component is informed by ownership and management advice from DEECA, Council’s Property Unit and Coliban Water, and by recommendations in the Greater Bendigo Public Space Plan 2019 for some Council-owned GRZ land proposed to become PPRZ (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, p.108).
  • Implements: The amendment implements planning-scheme accuracy, public-open-space legibility, conservation-zone consistency and removal of duplicate overlays on public land where the overlay function is said to be performed by the public land manager (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, pp.36, 108, 110).
  • Conflicts with: The unresolved conflict is between Council’s view that VPO2 is redundant on PCRZ and PPRZ public land, and submitter concern that removal of VPO2 may weaken vegetation and local-character protection near Bendigo Regional Park (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, pp.34-36).

Several affected public-land sites are managed or owned by state or regional public bodies rather than solely by Council. DEECA-owned land at Big Hill, California Gully, Eaglehawk, Epsom, Golden Gully and Jackass Flat is central to the PCRZ and PPRZ correction program (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, pp.133-135). The Big Hill land is described as part of Greater Bendigo National Park and jointly managed by Parks Victoria and the Dja Dja Wurrung Clans Aboriginal Corporation (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, p.133).

Parks Victoria is central to the contested vegetation issue because the officer response relies on Parks Victoria’s statutory responsibility under the Parks Victoria Act 2018 to protect, conserve and enhance natural and cultural values in Bendigo Regional Park (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, p.36). Coliban Water is relevant to the broader amendment because two Coliban-owned properties are included for zoning correction, including 28 Howard Street, Epsom, and 1A Holland Court, Kennington, although those changes are not PCRZ or PPRZ public-open-space rezonings (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, pp.108-109, 131).

Gaps in This Analysis

The source set is thin. The manifest provides one extracted agenda document, which contains the officer report, explanatory report, officer response to submissions and redacted submissions, but no separate GIS layers, planning scheme amendment maps, Panel report, adopted amendment documents, gazettal notice or final Ministerial decision (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, pp.39, 101-106). As a result, this page can quantify proposed land-area changes from the agenda, but it cannot verify final approved zoning boundaries, post-Panel changes, or whether the amendment was ultimately adopted, approved or modified after the scheduled 2026 Panel process (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, p.101).

The analysis also lacks the Greater Bendigo Public Space Plan 2019, which is cited as the strategic basis for some Council-owned land moving from GRZ to PPRZ (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, p.108). Without that plan, the page cannot independently test whether each PPRZ correction fully aligns with Council’s open-space hierarchy, service gaps or corridor priorities. The bushfire assessment for 31 Ayres Street, Argyle, and the CFA response are also referenced but not supplied as separate source documents, although that site is ancillary to this public-land PCRZ/PPRZ page (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, p.109).

There is a minor internal counting ambiguity in the explanatory material. The source states that 23 of the 40 properties with zoning errors are publicly owned or managed, 17 are privately owned, and then separately refers to two remaining Coliban Water properties, which does not reconcile cleanly as a single count (Source: agendas-and-meeting-minutes-city-greater-bendigo-council-meeting-april-20-2026-agenda.pdf, pp.108-109). This page therefore relies on the individually listed site areas for quantification rather than treating the narrative property count as definitive.

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