title: Development Plan Overlay Schedule 4 Deletion - CA2 Averys Road Jackass Flat and 147 Golden Gully Road 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
Development Plan Overlay Schedule 4 Deletion - CA2 Averys Road Jackass Flat and 147 Golden Gully Road
This page covers the proposed deletion of Development Plan Overlay Schedule 4 from two publicly owned properties: part of Allotment 2, Section F11 at Bendigo, Parish of Sandhurst, Averys Road, Jackass Flat, and 147 Golden Gully Road, Golden Gully. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, p.106) The practical planning effect is a control clean-up linked to public conservation zoning, not a new land supply or infrastructure delivery initiative. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.107-110)
Background
The DPO4 deletion forms part of Greater Bendigo Planning Scheme Amendment C285gben, described by Council officers as a corrections amendment to fix zoning and overlay mapping errors, remove redundant overlays, and update planning scheme text. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, p.32) The broader amendment applies across multiple Greater Bendigo suburbs and localities, including Golden Gully and Jackass Flat. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, p.33)
Council resolved on 22 April 2024 to request authorisation from the Minister for Planning to prepare and exhibit the amendment, prepare the amendment subject to ministerial authorisation, and place it on exhibition under section 19 of the Planning and Environment Act 1987. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.38-39) The Minister for Planning authorised preparation and public exhibition on 22 August 2025, with a post-authorisation change requiring deletion of three properties from the amendment to satisfy the Department of Transport and Planning on Clause 13.02-1S bushfire planning consistency. (Source: 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 the exhibition period was extended due to an administrative notification error. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, p.37) Exhibition included approximately 800 letters to owners, occupiers and adjoining landowners, Government Gazette notices on 23 October 2025 and 20 November 2025, prescribed minister notice, authority notice, newspaper notices, and access through Council and Department of Transport and Planning websites. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, p.37)
Analysis
Mechanism of the DPO4 deletion
DPO4 is proposed to be deleted from part of Allotment 2, Section F11 at Bendigo, Parish of Sandhurst, Averys Road, Jackass Flat, as shown on Planning Scheme Map No. 19DPO. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, p.106) DPO4 is also proposed to be deleted from 147 Golden Gully Road, Golden Gully, as shown on Planning Scheme Map No. 22DPO. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, p.106)
The planning mechanism is a two-step correction: first, each affected property is rezoned to Public Conservation and Resource Zone; second, DPO4 is removed because Council states that DPO4 applies only to Low Density Residential Zone land and not to public land zoned PCRZ. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.109-110) This means the overlay deletion follows the zoning correction rather than operating as an independent policy change. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.109-110)
For 147 Golden Gully Road, the amendment rezones approximately 1,170 square metres from Low Density Residential Zone Schedule 1 to Public Conservation and Resource Zone. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, p.103) For CA2 Averys Road, Jackass Flat, the amendment rezones approximately 14.9 hectares from part Low Density Residential Zone Schedule 1 and part Public Use Zone Schedule 7 to Public Conservation and Resource Zone. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, p.103)
Land status and conservation logic
The Golden Gully property is listed as Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action land in the amendment mapping reference table. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.126-128) The Jackass Flat property is also listed as Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action land in the amendment mapping reference table. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.126-128)
Council’s stated justification for 147 Golden Gully Road is that the site is part of Bendigo Regional Park, is managed by Parks Victoria, and should be zoned PCRZ consistently with the remaining part of Bendigo Regional Park. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, p.135) Council’s stated justification for CA2 Averys Road is that the site is part of the Jackass Flat Nature Conservation Reserve, which is zoned PCRZ, and should be zoned PCRZ consistently with the remaining part of that reserve. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, p.135)
The planning consequence is that land formerly carrying low-density residential controls is being aligned with public conservation zoning where Council identifies the public reserve or park function as the relevant land-use basis. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.103, 109-110, 135) The amendment therefore reduces inconsistency between mapped controls and public land status rather than creating a new development plan pathway. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.107-110)
Scale and land-supply effect
The quantified direct land affected by this DPO4 deletion is approximately 14.9 hectares at CA2 Averys Road plus approximately 1,170 square metres at 147 Golden Gully Road. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, p.103) The larger of the two sites is therefore the Jackass Flat property, which accounts for nearly all of the mapped area affected by this specific DPO4 correction. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, p.103)
The available source does not provide dwelling yield estimates, subdivision assumptions, net developable area calculations, or development plan staging information for either property. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.103, 106, 109-110) On the source material available, the land-supply effect appears to be the removal of residential-zone and DPO4 inconsistency from public conservation land rather than the enabling of additional residential capacity. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.107-110, 135)
Relationship to vegetation and public land controls
Although this page is about DPO4, the same amendment also proposes to delete Vegetation Protection Overlay Schedule 2 from other public conservation or parkland properties. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.104-105, 110-111) Council’s broader public-land rationale is that public zoning and public land management can make some overlays redundant where the overlay duplicates the role of the public land manager. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, p.36)
For vegetation-related submissions, Council relied on the Victorian Government Practitioner’s Guide to Victoria’s Planning Schemes 2025, which Council reports as recommending that overlays should not be applied to public land where the overlay duplicates the function of the public land manager. (Source: 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 land. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, p.36)
That vegetation debate does not directly contest the DPO4 deletion from CA2 Averys Road or 147 Golden Gully Road in the available report, but it is relevant because it shows the amendment’s recurring logic: public land should be controlled by the public zone and land-manager framework rather than duplicate private-land overlays. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.34-36, 109-111)
Submissions and contested issues
Council received nine submissions to Amendment C285gben, comprising five opposing submissions and four supporting submissions. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, p.34) Three supporting submissions came from public authorities and one supporting submission came from Taungurung Land and Waters Council. (Source: 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 that the amendment be changed to include the submitter’s land. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, p.34)
Two submissions remained unresolved at the time of the April 20, 2026 agenda report. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, p.32) The unresolved submissions related to vegetation protection within Bendigo Regional Park, not to the DPO4 deletion from CA2 Averys Road or 147 Golden Gully Road. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.32, 34-36)
Goulburn-Murray Water advised that it had no objection to Amendment C285gben after reviewing the documentation provided on the Department of Transport and Planning website. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, p.97) Head, Transport for Victoria advised that it had no objection to Amendment C285gben and stated that the amendment comprised administrative and mapping corrections that did not affect Transport Zone 1 or Transport Zone 2 land, road access arrangements, or operation of the State Transport Network. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.97-98)
Infrastructure and servicing implications
The source material does not identify any transport infrastructure, water infrastructure, sewer infrastructure, drainage works, road upgrades, public open space works, or development contribution items triggered by deleting DPO4 from the two subject properties. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.106, 109-110, 124) Head, Transport for Victoria stated that the amendment was not expected to have a material impact on transport interests. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, p.98)
Council’s strategic assessment states that the amendment is expected to reduce responsible-authority administrative costs by avoiding unnecessary planning permit applications for land use and new development. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, p.125) For the DPO4 deletion specifically, that administrative effect is best understood as removing a development-plan overlay from land that Council says will no longer sit in the low-density residential zone. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.109-110)
Current Status
As reported in the April 20, 2026 agenda, Council officers recommended that Council consider all submissions, request the Minister for Planning to appoint a Planning Panel, and refer all submissions to that Panel under Part 8 of the Planning and Environment Act 1987. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, p.33) The 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 was expected to be presented to Council after the Planning Panel’s recommendations, allowing Council to make an informed decision on adoption of the amendment. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, p.32)
Dependencies
- Blocks: The available source does not identify any development, infrastructure delivery, subdivision, or capital works item blocked by this DPO4 deletion. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.106, 109-110)
- Blocked by: Finalisation is blocked by the normal amendment process after unresolved submissions, including Panel consideration and a later Council decision on adoption. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.32-33, 37)
- Informed by: The amendment is informed by Council’s corrections review, the explanatory report, mapping reference tables, agency comments, and officer responses to submissions. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.39, 100-128)
- Implements: The amendment implements planning-scheme legibility and public-land zoning consistency by correcting zoning anomalies and deleting overlays that Council states are redundant or inapplicable. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.107-110, 122-123)
- Conflicts with: The available source records unresolved conflict about VPO2 removal from Bendigo Regional Park land, but it does not record a direct unresolved objection to deleting DPO4 from CA2 Averys Road or 147 Golden Gully Road. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.32, 34-36, 109-110)
Cross-Jurisdictional Links
The subject properties are owned by the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action, and 147 Golden Gully Road is described as part of Bendigo Regional Park managed by Parks Victoria. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.126-128, 135) CA2 Averys Road is described as part of the Jackass Flat Nature Conservation Reserve. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, p.135)
The amendment therefore depends on state public-land ownership and management settings as well as Council planning-scheme mapping. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.109-110, 124, 135) DEECA provided comments consenting to rezoning of its land as proposed. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, p.124)
Gaps in This Analysis
The corpus contains only the April 20, 2026 Council agenda and does not include the standalone DPO4 schedule, the exhibited DPO map sheets 19DPO and 22DPO, the full amendment instruction, the Panel report, or any post-Panel Council decision. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.39, 101, 106) Because those documents are missing, this page cannot verify the exact mapped extent of DPO4 deletion beyond the descriptions and map references in the agenda. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.106, 126-128)
The corpus also does not include Parks Victoria or DEECA management plans for Bendigo Regional Park or Jackass Flat Nature Conservation Reserve. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.36, 135) That gap limits analysis of how conservation management obligations operate after DPO4 is deleted and after the land is fully aligned with PCRZ. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.36, 109-110, 135)
No source document provides development yield, ecological assessment, reserve management actions, infrastructure capacity, or future works programming for the two subject properties. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.103, 106, 109-110, 135) The analysis should therefore be treated as a statutory-control diagnosis rather than a full reserve-management or infrastructure-delivery assessment. (Source: City-Greater-Bendigo-Council-Meeting-April-20-2026-Agenda.pdf, pp.107-110)