title: Coliban Water Land Zone Corrections - 1A Holland Court Kennington and 28 Howard Street Epsom council: greater-bendigo state: vic category: infrastructure classification: MINOR status: in-progress last_compiled: 2026-05-31 source_docs:
- City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf
Coliban Water Land Zone Corrections - 1A Holland Court Kennington and 28 Howard Street Epsom
This initiative is a narrow planning scheme correction for two parcels owned by Coliban Region Water Corporation trading as Coliban Water, rather than a new infrastructure project or servicing strategy. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, p.108) The practical effect is to align the planning controls with the intended public or private character of each parcel: 28 Howard Street, Epsom would become wholly Public Use Zone - Other Public Use, while 1A Holland Court, Kennington would move from Public Use Zone - Service and Utility to General Residential Zone so surplus former pipeline easement land can be sold to adjoining residential landowners. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.103-104, 108, 131)
Background
The Coliban Water corrections sit inside Planning Scheme Amendment C285gben, a broader Greater Bendigo corrections amendment that proposes zoning and overlay mapping corrections, removal of redundant overlays, planning scheme text corrections, one private industrial-to-residential rezoning, and Heritage Overlay changes. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.32-34) Amendment C285gben applies across multiple Greater Bendigo suburbs and localities, including Epsom and Kennington. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.33, 101)
Council resolved on 22 April 2024 to request authorisation from the Minister for Planning, prepare the amendment generally in accordance with the amendment documentation, exhibit it subject to authorisation, and allow minor changes that did not alter the amendment’s overall intent. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.38-39) The Minister for Planning authorised preparation and exhibition on 22 August 2025, subject to conditions, with the only noteworthy post-authorisation change being removal of three properties to satisfy the Department of Transport and Planning on Clause 13.02-1S bushfire consistency. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, p.39)
The amendment was publicly exhibited from 23 October 2025 to 22 December 2025 after the exhibition period was extended because additional notifications were required. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.32, 37) Council reported receiving nine submissions: five opposing and four supporting, with two unresolved submissions remaining at the time of the 20 April 2026 agenda report. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.32, 34)
Analysis
Planning Mechanism
The amendment treats 1A Holland Court and 28 Howard Street as mapping anomalies rather than as new infrastructure commitments. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.108, 130-131) This matters because a mapping correction changes which planning controls apply to land, but it does not itself fund works, approve works, create a servicing strategy, or authorise subdivision or development. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.112-113, 125)
At 28 Howard Street, Epsom, the amendment proposes to rezone 4,321 square metres from Industrial 1 Zone to Public Use Zone - Other Public Use. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, p.103) The officer material explains the mechanism simply: the site is owned by Coliban Water Corporation, is currently split between Industrial 1 Zone and Public Use Zone - Other Public Use, and the Industrial 1 Zone applying to part of the site is treated as an error to be corrected so the whole site is in Public Use Zone - Other Public Use. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.108, 131) Coliban Water Corporation does not oppose the proposed correction for 28 Howard Street. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, p.131)
At 1A Holland Court, Kennington, the amendment proposes to rezone approximately 5,072 square metres from Public Use Zone - Service and Utility to General Residential Zone. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, p.104) The officer material identifies the land as a former pipeline easement owned by Coliban Water Corporation, states that Coliban Water has declared it surplus, and states that Coliban Water intends to divest the land in the future. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.108, 131) The stated reason for the residential rezoning is that Coliban Water has a legal obligation under relevant legislation to rezone the land to a private zone before it can sell it, and Coliban Water requested Council rezone it to General Residential Zone. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, p.131)
The combined mapped land area directly identified for the two Coliban Water corrections is approximately 9,393 square metres: 4,321 square metres at 28 Howard Street and 5,072 square metres at 1A Holland Court. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.103-104) This scale supports the manifest classification of the initiative as minor because the source frames the changes as administrative and mapping corrections, not as a precinct-scale land supply, infrastructure funding, or service-capacity decision. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.32, 98, 108)
Site-Specific Effect
The 1A Holland Court correction is the more consequential of the two Coliban Water changes because it converts surplus utility land from a public-use zone to a residential zone. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.104, 108, 131) The land is described as two narrow north-south strips: one strip extends from 1/7 Fiona Place, Kennington to 72 Lowndes Street, and the second extends from 1/22 Mahon Avenue through the middle of several privately owned properties to 5-7 Timbertop Drive, Kennington. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, p.108) That physical description indicates the amendment is not creating a conventional standalone residential development parcel; it is converting remnant linear utility land so it can be absorbed into adjoining residential holdings. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.108, 131)
The likely planning consequence at 1A Holland Court is a reduction in public-utility planning controls over land that Coliban Water says is no longer required for a pipeline. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, p.108) The source does not identify new dwellings, subdivision yield, infrastructure upgrades, or changes to road access for the 1A Holland Court land, so the defensible conclusion is limited to control alignment and future transfer to adjoining landowners. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.108, 131)
The 28 Howard Street correction moves in the opposite direction: instead of releasing public utility land to a residential zone, it consolidates a Coliban Water site into a public-use zone by removing an Industrial 1 Zone component. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.103, 108, 131) The practical planning effect is to remove a split-zone condition from a Coliban Water property and make the zoning consistent with the public utility character recorded in the amendment material. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.108, 131)
Infrastructure and Servicing Implications
The available source does not identify any new water, sewer, drainage, transport, or power infrastructure works arising from the two Coliban Water corrections. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.98, 108, 125) The Head, Transport for Victoria advised that Amendment C285gben comprises only administrative and mapping corrections, does not affect Transport Zone 1 or Transport Zone 2 land, does not affect road access arrangements, and is not expected to have any material impact on transport interests. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, p.98)
Goulburn-Murray Water advised that it had no objection to Amendment C285gben after reviewing the Department of Transport and Planning amendment documentation, with its stated interests being surface water and groundwater quality, water use and disposal, infrastructure impacts, and availability of approved water supplies. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.96-97) The agenda material does not include a separate Coliban Water servicing assessment for either 1A Holland Court or 28 Howard Street. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.39, 96-98, 108, 131)
The amendment’s environmental and social assessment says future land use must meet relevant environmental standards, that proposed zones generally reflect current use or ownership and surrounding zones where relevant, and that the amendment is expected to avoid land-use conflicts or uncertainties. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.112-113) For the Coliban Water parcels, that means the source supports a control-correction reading, not a service-capacity or infrastructure-upgrade reading. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.108, 112-113, 131)
Risk, Contamination, Bushfire and Climate
The explanatory report states that all properties proposed to be rezoned were reviewed through council records, state government publicly available databases, and applicant information for historical and environmental conditions, and that the planning authority was satisfied the affected land is not potentially contaminated and is suitable for the uses proposed to be allowed by the amendment. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, p.118) The source does not provide a site-specific contamination report for 1A Holland Court or 28 Howard Street, so the contamination conclusion can only be treated as a planning-authority assessment recorded in the explanatory report. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.118, 130-131)
The explanatory report identifies 1A Holland Court, Kennington as not being within a designated bushfire prone area, Bushfire Management Overlay, or a location proposed to be used or developed in a way that may create a bushfire hazard. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, p.114) The same bushfire list does not specifically name 28 Howard Street, Epsom, and the source does not provide a separate bushfire assessment for that parcel. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.114-118, 130-131)
The planning authority considered climate change under Ministerial Direction 22 and concluded that the amendment does not make a significant change to, or intensification of, use and development of the subject land. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, p.113) The explanatory report also states that minor rezonings from non-urban to urban zones correct errors or reflect current land use or surrounding land use, and therefore make no meaningful contribution to new land uses, greenhouse gas emissions, or natural hazard exposure. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, p.113)
Submissions and Contest
The unresolved submissions to Amendment C285gben do not appear to contest the Coliban Water corrections. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.32, 34-36, 40-42) The unresolved issues relate to removal of Vegetation Protection Overlay Schedule 2 from Bendigo Regional Park land, not to 1A Holland Court or 28 Howard Street. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.32, 34-36, 40-42) One opposing submitter sought inclusion of 42 and 44 Rohs Road, East Bendigo in the amendment, but officers recommended no change because sites could not be added at that point in the amendment process and the City would assess those properties in a future corrections amendment. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.35, 41-42)
This means the Coliban Water component is procedurally exposed to the Planning Panel only because unresolved submissions require the amendment to proceed to panel, not because the available source records a direct objection to the Coliban Water rezonings. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.32, 36-37) The report recommends requesting the Minister for Planning to appoint a Planning Panel and referring all submissions to the panel for independent assessment and recommendation. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.32-33)
Current Status
As at the 20 April 2026 council agenda, Amendment C285gben had completed exhibition, nine submissions had been received, two submissions remained unresolved, and officers recommended that Council request the Minister for Planning appoint a Planning Panel. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.32-33) The exhibited explanatory report listed a directions hearing for the week starting Monday 18 May 2026 and a panel hearing for the week starting Monday 15 June 2026. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, p.101) A further report is expected to be presented to Council after the Planning Panel provides recommendations, enabling Council to decide whether to adopt the amendment. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, p.32)
Dependencies
- Blocks: Sale of the surplus 1A Holland Court former pipeline easement to adjoining residential landowners is dependent on the land being rezoned from Public Use Zone - Service and Utility to a private zone, according to the officer material. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.108, 131)
- Blocked by: The Coliban Water corrections are part of Amendment C285gben, which was recommended to proceed through a Planning Panel because two unresolved submissions remained after exhibition. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.32-37)
- Informed by: The source records council officer assessment, the C285gben explanatory report, redacted submissions, agency responses from Goulburn-Murray Water and Head, Transport for Victoria, and the mapping reference table. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.39, 96-98, 101-131)
- Implements: The amendment is presented as implementing the Planning and Environment Act 1987 objective of fair, orderly, economic and sustainable use and development of land by correcting zoning anomalies and deleting redundant overlays. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, p.112)
- Conflicts with: No source document identifies a direct policy conflict or submission objection for 1A Holland Court or 28 Howard Street; the unresolved conflicts relate to vegetation protection on Bendigo Regional Park land. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.32, 34-36, 40-42)
Cross-Jurisdictional Links
The direct cross-agency link is with Coliban Water as the landowner of both affected parcels. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.108, 126-127, 131) Goulburn-Murray Water and Head, Transport for Victoria provided no-objection responses to the broader amendment, but the source does not identify any required downstream action from those agencies for the two Coliban Water parcels. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.96-98) The initiative should be cross-linked to c285gben-corrections-amendment if that amendment page exists, because the Coliban Water rezonings cannot be understood separately from the amendment process that carries them. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.32-33, 101-108)
Gaps in This Analysis
The source set is thin for a parcel-level infrastructure page because the available material is a council agenda package, not a Coliban Water land disposal file, title package, servicing assessment, or engineering record. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.39, 108, 130-131) The agenda does not include title searches, easement instruments, a Coliban Water board or asset-disposal decision, pipeline decommissioning evidence, survey plans, valuation material, or sale terms for 1A Holland Court. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.39, 108, 131) The agenda also does not include a site-specific operational statement explaining why 28 Howard Street should be wholly Public Use Zone - Other Public Use beyond the officer conclusion that the Industrial 1 Zone component is an error. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.108, 131)
The main analytical gap is therefore not the amendment mechanism, which is clear, but the asset history and operational basis for Coliban Water’s land position. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.108, 130-131) A stronger analysis would need Coliban Water property records, title and easement documents, any declaration of surplus land, and any asset-management record confirming the former pipeline easement at 1A Holland Court is no longer required. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.108, 131)