title: Amendment GC198 - Donnybrook-Woodstock ICP Amendment council: mitchell state: vic category: amendment classification: MAJOR status: pending last_compiled: 2026-05-31 source_docs:

web-research-L1-gc198-amendment-page-mitchell-planning-schemes.txt
web-research-L1-gc198-amendment-page-planning-schemes.txt
web-research-L1-icp-gc198-amended-may-2022-vpa.txt

Amendment GC198 - Donnybrook-Woodstock ICP Amendment

Amendment GC198 matters because it updates the statutory funding machinery for the Donnybrook-Woodstock Precinct Structure Plan across both Mitchell Shire and City of Whittlesea. The amended ICP converts the precinct’s required roads, intersections, bridges, community facilities, sports reserves, local parks and public-purpose land into a payable contribution framework: $268.455 million in monetary contributions, 155.65 hectares of public-purpose land, and a 13.10% land contribution requirement across 1,188.31 hectares of contribution land. (Source: Donnybrook-Woodstock Infrastructure Contributions Plan.pdf, pp.4, 25)

The available corpus supports strong analysis of the amended ICP mechanism, rates, public land burden and infrastructure schedule, but it does not include the amendment explanatory report, instruction sheet, gazettal notice, panel material, submissions, or the full PSP background reports. The planning-scheme portal captures in the corpus are JavaScript shell pages rather than rendered amendment records, so they confirm the existence of the GC198 planning-scheme URL but do not provide amendment-stage detail. (Source: web-research-L1-gc198-amendment-page-mitchell-planning-schemes.txt; Source: web-research-L1-gc198-amendment-page-planning-schemes.txt)

Background

The Donnybrook-Woodstock Infrastructure Contributions Plan was prepared by the Victorian Planning Authority with the assistance of Whittlesea City Council, Mitchell Shire Council, service authorities and other stakeholders. (Source: Donnybrook-Woodstock Infrastructure Contributions Plan.pdf, p.6) The ICP is incorporated into the Whittlesea and Mitchell Planning Schemes to impose infrastructure contributions on development proponents for works, services, facilities and land for public purposes. (Source: Donnybrook-Woodstock Infrastructure Contributions Plan.pdf, p.6)

The ICP sits underneath the Donnybrook-Woodstock Precinct Structure Plan: the PSP sets the future urban structure, identifies required infrastructure, and provides the rationale for the infrastructure and land requirements that the ICP then converts into statutory contributions. (Source: Donnybrook-Woodstock Infrastructure Contributions Plan.pdf, p.7) The ICP is prepared under Part 3AB of the Planning and Environment Act 1987, is stated to be consistent with the Ministerial Direction on the Preparation and Content of Infrastructure Contributions Plans, and is implemented through Schedule 1 to Clause 45.11, the Infrastructure Contributions Overlay, and as an incorporated document under Clause 72.04. (Source: Donnybrook-Woodstock Infrastructure Contributions Plan.pdf, p.7)

The plan area is 1,785.94 hectares, of which 1,032.66 hectares is net developable area and 1,188.31 hectares is contribution land. (Source: Donnybrook-Woodstock Infrastructure Contributions Plan.pdf, pp.7, 37) The ICP applies only to the residential class of development, with no employment NDA included in the land budget. (Source: Donnybrook-Woodstock Infrastructure Contributions Plan.pdf, p.37)

Analysis

Contribution Mechanism and Scale

The amended ICP has two operating parts: a monetary component and a land component. The monetary component is calculated by multiplying net developable area by the applicable levy rate, while the land component requires either provision of inner public-purpose land or payment of a land equalisation amount. (Source: Donnybrook-Woodstock Infrastructure Contributions Plan.pdf, p.4)

For residential development, the monetary component is $259,964 per net developable hectare, made up of a$ 216,564 standard levy and a $43,400 supplementary levy. Across 1,032.66 hectares of residential NDA, this produces a total monetary component of$ 268,455,449. (Source: Donnybrook-Woodstock Infrastructure Contributions Plan.pdf, p.4) The practical effect is that the ICP translates the precinct’s infrastructure program into a per-hectare charge, so development that consumes more net developable land contributes more to the shared infrastructure pool. (Source: Donnybrook-Woodstock Infrastructure Contributions Plan.pdf, pp.4, 31-32)

The standard levy is split between $124,370 per NDHa for transport construction and$ 92,194 per NDHa for community and recreation construction. (Source: Donnybrook-Woodstock Infrastructure Contributions Plan.pdf, p.31) The supplementary levy adds $43,400 per NDHa for transport construction and$ 0 for community and recreation construction. (Source: Donnybrook-Woodstock Infrastructure Contributions Plan.pdf, p.32) The combined transport construction rate is therefore $167,770 per NDHa, and the community and recreation rate remains$ 92,194 per NDHa. (Source: Donnybrook-Woodstock Infrastructure Contributions Plan.pdf, p.32)

The land component is set at 13.10% for residential development. (Source: Donnybrook-Woodstock Infrastructure Contributions Plan.pdf, p.4) In mechanism terms, the 13.10% figure is not an arbitrary open-space percentage; it is derived by dividing the public-purpose land attributable to residential development by the contribution land in the ICP plan area. (Source: Donnybrook-Woodstock Infrastructure Contributions Plan.pdf, p.25) The land burden is large because the ICP requires 155.65 hectares of inner public-purpose land, including 47.86 hectares for transport purposes and 107.79 hectares for community, recreation and open-space purposes. (Source: Donnybrook-Woodstock Infrastructure Contributions Plan.pdf, p.25)

Land Supply, Yield and Spatial Trade-Offs

The land budget shows why this amendment is strategically significant: the gross precinct area is 1,785.94 hectares, but the NDA is 1,032.66 hectares, or 57.82% of the total precinct area. (Source: Donnybrook-Woodstock Infrastructure Contributions Plan.pdf, p.37) The difference between gross area and NDA is not incidental; it is absorbed by transport corridors, education and community land, conservation reserves, waterways and drainage reserves, heritage reserve, utility easements, Hayes Hill Reserve, open space, existing developed land and other non-NDA categories. (Source: Donnybrook-Woodstock Infrastructure Contributions Plan.pdf, p.37)

The most material non-NDA category is open space and conservation land. Total open space is 579.84 hectares, equal to 32.5% of the precinct and 56.15% of NDA. (Source: Donnybrook-Woodstock Infrastructure Contributions Plan.pdf, p.37) Within that total, uncredited open space includes 372.82 hectares of conservation reserve, 63.35 hectares of waterway and drainage reserve, 27.31 hectares of utility easements, 14.58 hectares for Hayes Hill Reserve, and 0.39 hectares of post-contact heritage reserve. (Source: Donnybrook-Woodstock Infrastructure Contributions Plan.pdf, p.37) Credited open space adds 54.80 hectares of local sports reserve land and 46.59 hectares of local network park land. (Source: Donnybrook-Woodstock Infrastructure Contributions Plan.pdf, p.37)

The residential yield assumption is 16 dwellings per net developable hectare, producing 16,523 dwellings across 1,032.66 hectares of residential NDA. (Source: Donnybrook-Woodstock Infrastructure Contributions Plan.pdf, p.37) The population assumption is 2.8 persons per dwelling, producing an anticipated population of 46,263 people. (Source: Donnybrook-Woodstock Infrastructure Contributions Plan.pdf, p.37) This means each hectare removed from NDA has a direct planning consequence: at the stated yield, every 10 hectares of lost NDA represents approximately 160 dwellings and approximately 448 residents. (Source: Donnybrook-Woodstock Infrastructure Contributions Plan.pdf, p.37)

The ICP’s land mechanism also redistributes the public-purpose land burden between parcels. Some parcels provide more than the 13.10% contribution and receive land credits, while parcels providing less pay land equalisation amounts. (Source: Donnybrook-Woodstock Infrastructure Contributions Plan.pdf, pp.25-27) Across the precinct, 27.64 hectares of IPPL above the contribution percentage generates $72,463,878.70 in land credits, while 128.01 hectares of IPPL equal to or below the contribution percentage is used to calculate the equalisation rate. (Source: Donnybrook-Woodstock Infrastructure Contributions Plan.pdf, p.26) The resulting land equalisation rate is$ 2,621,667.40 per hectare. (Source: Donnybrook-Woodstock Infrastructure Contributions Plan.pdf, p.26)

Transport Infrastructure Dependencies

Transport is the largest infrastructure category in the ICP. Total transport construction costs are $185,877,115 in 2021/22 dollars, made up of$ 125,233,706 in standard-levy transport items and $60,643,409 in supplementary-levy transport items. (Source: Donnybrook-Woodstock Infrastructure Contributions Plan.pdf, p.105) The ICP apportions$ 128,432,293 of standard-levy transport costs to the ICP, equivalent to $124,370 per NDHa. (Source: Donnybrook-Woodstock Infrastructure Contributions Plan.pdf, pp.11-13) It also apportions$ 44,817,852 of supplementary-levy transport costs to the ICP, equivalent to $43,400 per NDHa. (Source: Donnybrook-Woodstock Infrastructure Contributions Plan.pdf, p.14)

The standard transport program includes five arterial road projects: Cameron Street, Gunns Gully Road, Patterson Drive between Donnybrook Road and Merri Creek, Patterson Drive between Merri Creek and the OMR/E6 reservation, and Koukoura Drive between Donnybrook Road and Gunns Gully Road. (Source: Donnybrook-Woodstock Infrastructure Contributions Plan.pdf, p.11) These five road projects have a combined estimated cost of $44,601,259 in 2021/22 dollars. (Source: Donnybrook-Woodstock Infrastructure Contributions Plan.pdf, p.103)

The standard transport program also includes three signalised pedestrian crossings and fifteen intersection projects. (Source: Donnybrook-Woodstock Infrastructure Contributions Plan.pdf, pp.11-13) The pedestrian crossings are located on Patterson Drive, Gunns Gully Road and Donnybrook Road, with the Donnybrook Road crossing apportioned 50% to this ICP and 50% to the Shenstone Park ICP. (Source: Donnybrook-Woodstock Infrastructure Contributions Plan.pdf, p.11) The intersection program includes major nodes on Donnybrook Road, Cameron Street, Gunns Gully Road, Patterson Drive, Hayes Hill Boulevard, Koukoura Drive and Merriang Road. (Source: Donnybrook-Woodstock Infrastructure Contributions Plan.pdf, pp.11-13)

The supplementary transport levy is used for transport items that cannot be fully carried by the standard levy. (Source: Donnybrook-Woodstock Infrastructure Contributions Plan.pdf, p.14) The supplementary program includes the Donnybrook Road and Patterson Drive intersection, the Gunns Gully Road and Patterson Drive intersection, the Cameron Street bridge over Merri Creek and the Sydney-Melbourne railway, the Patterson Drive culvert, two Growling Grass Frog habitat-suitable Darebin Creek crossings, and the Patterson Drive bridge over Merri Creek. (Source: Donnybrook-Woodstock Infrastructure Contributions Plan.pdf, p.14)

Several transport items show cross-precinct or cross-agency dependency. The Cameron Street bridge is only 50% apportioned to this ICP, with the remaining 50% attributed to the Lockerbie DCP. (Source: Donnybrook-Woodstock Infrastructure Contributions Plan.pdf, p.14) The Patterson Drive bridge over Merri Creek is described as a shared development-agency responsibility of the City of Whittlesea and Shire of Mitchell. (Source: Donnybrook-Woodstock Infrastructure Contributions Plan.pdf, p.14) The Donnybrook Road pedestrian crossing is only 50% apportioned to this ICP, with the other 50% attributed to the Shenstone Park ICP. (Source: Donnybrook-Woodstock Infrastructure Contributions Plan.pdf, p.11)

The staging framework classifies infrastructure as short term, medium term or long term: short term is approximately 0-5 years, medium term is approximately 5-10 years, and long term is 10 years and beyond. (Source: Donnybrook-Woodstock Infrastructure Contributions Plan.pdf, p.9) The ICP allows collecting and development agencies to consider alternative staging where works are delivered as works in kind, where transport network priorities require different sequencing, or where community needs alter facility timing. (Source: Donnybrook-Woodstock Infrastructure Contributions Plan.pdf, p.17)

Community, Recreation and Open Space Infrastructure

The community and recreation construction program has an estimated cost of $137,406,924, but only$ 135,749,225 is apportioned to the ICP. (Source: Donnybrook-Woodstock Infrastructure Contributions Plan.pdf, pp.16-17) The calculated community and recreation cost per NDHa is $131,456, but the levy is capped at$ 92,194 per NDHa. (Source: Donnybrook-Woodstock Infrastructure Contributions Plan.pdf, p.17) This creates an implementation issue: the identified community and recreation program is larger than the amount recoverable through the capped standard levy. (Source: Donnybrook-Woodstock Infrastructure Contributions Plan.pdf, p.17)

The community building program includes seven community centres: Donnybrook Farmhouse Community Centre, Patterson Drive Community Centre, Darebin Creek Community Centre, Koukoura Drive Community Centre with library, Lockerbie East Community Centre, Woodlands Community Centre and Merristock Community Centre. (Source: Donnybrook-Woodstock Infrastructure Contributions Plan.pdf, p.16) Their combined estimated cost is $66,781,850 in 2021/22 dollars. (Source: Donnybrook-Woodstock Infrastructure Contributions Plan.pdf, p.105)

The sports reserve construction program includes seven sports reserves: Donnybrook Farmhouse, Patterson Drive, Darebin Creek, Lockerbie East, Koukoura Drive, Woodlands and Merristock. (Source: Donnybrook-Woodstock Infrastructure Contributions Plan.pdf, pp.16-17) Their combined estimated cost is $70,625,074 in 2021/22 dollars. (Source: Donnybrook-Woodstock Infrastructure Contributions Plan.pdf, p.105) The Koukoura Drive Sports Reserve includes tennis, netball, lawn bowls and a multipurpose pavilion, and the ICP records that a Ministerial Direction exemption was granted for the indoor sports facility land associated with SR-05. (Source: Donnybrook-Woodstock Infrastructure Contributions Plan.pdf, pp.17, 19)

The public land program includes 6.40 hectares of community activity centre land, 54.80 hectares of local sports reserve land and 46.59 hectares of local network park land. (Source: Donnybrook-Woodstock Infrastructure Contributions Plan.pdf, pp.20-24, 37) The ICP funds construction of local sports reserves through the community and recreation levy, while construction of local parks is treated as developer works outside the ICP. (Source: Donnybrook-Woodstock Infrastructure Contributions Plan.pdf, p.19)

Administration, Payment and Delivery Risk

The City of Whittlesea and Shire of Mitchell are both collecting agencies and development agencies for the ICP. (Source: Donnybrook-Woodstock Infrastructure Contributions Plan.pdf, p.31) As collecting agencies, they receive monetary contributions and land equalisation amounts, administer and enforce the ICP, and pay land credit amounts. (Source: Donnybrook-Woodstock Infrastructure Contributions Plan.pdf, p.31) As development agencies, they are responsible for infrastructure projects and acquisition of outer public-purpose land identified in the ICP. (Source: Donnybrook-Woodstock Infrastructure Contributions Plan.pdf, p.31)

For subdivision, the monetary component and any land equalisation amount are payable after certification of the relevant plan of subdivision, but not more than 21 days before Statement of Compliance. (Source: Donnybrook-Woodstock Infrastructure Contributions Plan.pdf, p.32) For staged subdivision, only the contributions for the stage being developed are required before Statement of Compliance, provided a Schedule of Infrastructure Contributions is submitted. (Source: Donnybrook-Woodstock Infrastructure Contributions Plan.pdf, p.32) For development without subdivision, the monetary component and any land equalisation amount must be paid before issue of a building permit for each net developable hectare proposed to be developed. (Source: Donnybrook-Woodstock Infrastructure Contributions Plan.pdf, pp.32-33)

Works in kind are available under the ICP, but only where the collecting agency accepts delivery of works, services or facilities in full or part satisfaction of the monetary component. (Source: Donnybrook-Woodstock Infrastructure Contributions Plan.pdf, p.33) Before accepting works in kind, the collecting agency must obtain agreement from the development agency or agencies, and the works must form part of an identified ICP project and be defined in a section 173 agreement. (Source: Donnybrook-Woodstock Infrastructure Contributions Plan.pdf, p.33) If the value of accepted works exceeds the monetary component payable by the applicant, the applicant is entitled to reimbursement of the difference, subject to agreement with the collecting and development agencies. (Source: Donnybrook-Woodstock Infrastructure Contributions Plan.pdf, p.34)

The ICP adopts annual indexation. Standard levy rates are indexed each 1 July under the Ministerial Direction indexation method, and supplementary levy rates are indexed using relevant Australian Bureau of Statistics producer price indices. (Source: Donnybrook-Woodstock Infrastructure Contributions Plan.pdf, p.34) Land credit and land equalisation amounts are also adjusted annually under the Ministerial Direction method. (Source: Donnybrook-Woodstock Infrastructure Contributions Plan.pdf, p.35)

Amendment GC198 Change Signal

The ICP text is marked throughout as amended by GC198, including the monetary levy summary, land credit and equalisation amounts, transport construction tables, community and recreation construction tables, land equalisation rate, levy rates and indexed 2021/22 cost appendix. (Source: Donnybrook-Woodstock Infrastructure Contributions Plan.pdf, pp.3-5, 11, 14, 16, 26, 31-32, 103) This indicates that GC198 materially affects the financial and land-equalisation machinery rather than being a purely administrative amendment. (Source: Donnybrook-Woodstock Infrastructure Contributions Plan.pdf, pp.4-5, 31-32)

The cost appendix states that infrastructure item costs were originally estimated in 2017/18 dollars and then indexed for the 2021/22 financial year. (Source: Donnybrook-Woodstock Infrastructure Contributions Plan.pdf, p.103) The total indexed construction cost is $323,284,039, comprising$ 185,877,115 for transport construction and $137,406,924 for community and recreation construction. (Source: Donnybrook-Woodstock Infrastructure Contributions Plan.pdf, pp.105-106) The amendment therefore updates the contribution framework to a later cost base and exposes the gap between full program costs and amounts recoverable under capped levies. (Source: Donnybrook-Woodstock Infrastructure Contributions Plan.pdf, pp.16-17, 103-106)

Current Status

The manifest classifies the initiative as pending, but the source documents available for this page do not include a rendered amendment status record, explanatory report, approval notice or gazettal notice. The two planning-scheme portal captures are not analytically useful because one records only a JavaScript-disabled portal message and the other records only the portal HTML shell. (Source: web-research-L1-gc198-amendment-page-mitchell-planning-schemes.txt; Source: web-research-L1-gc198-amendment-page-planning-schemes.txt)

The strongest dated source in the corpus is the ICP itself: it is a July 2020 document amended in March 2022, with Appendix 5 indexing infrastructure costs to the 2021/22 financial year. (Source: Donnybrook-Woodstock Infrastructure Contributions Plan.pdf, pp.1, 103) The ICP states that it commences on incorporation into the Whittlesea and Mitchell Planning Schemes and is projected to end when development within the ICP area is complete, projected to be 20 years after gazettal, or when the ICP is removed from the planning schemes. (Source: Donnybrook-Woodstock Infrastructure Contributions Plan.pdf, p.7)

Dependencies

Blocks: Development sequencing is tied to the delivery or funding of the ICP transport, bridge, intersection, community facility, sports reserve and public-purpose land program, because only items listed in the ICP can be funded through the ICP monetary and land components. (Source: Donnybrook-Woodstock Infrastructure Contributions Plan.pdf, pp.9, 17, 19)
Blocked by: Delivery is constrained by the availability of collected contributions, the capacity of development agencies to fund any balance not collected by the ICP, and the need for works-in-kind agreements where proponents deliver infrastructure directly. (Source: Donnybrook-Woodstock Infrastructure Contributions Plan.pdf, pp.17, 33-34)
Informed by: The ICP is informed by the Donnybrook-Woodstock Precinct Structure Plan, which identifies the infrastructure projects, future urban structure and rationale for the contribution framework. (Source: Donnybrook-Woodstock Infrastructure Contributions Plan.pdf, p.7)
Implements: The ICP implements Part 3AB of the Planning and Environment Act 1987, the Ministerial Direction on Infrastructure Contributions Plans, Schedule 1 to Clause 45.11, and Clause 72.04 incorporation in the Whittlesea and Mitchell Planning Schemes. (Source: Donnybrook-Woodstock Infrastructure Contributions Plan.pdf, p.7)
Conflicts with: The available documents do not include submissions, panel findings or agency objections, so no evidenced conflict can be identified from the corpus. (Source: web-research-L1-gc198-amendment-page-mitchell-planning-schemes.txt; Source: web-research-L1-gc198-amendment-page-planning-schemes.txt)

Cross-Jurisdictional Links

The ICP is inherently cross-jurisdictional because it applies across the Whittlesea and Mitchell Planning Schemes and identifies both councils as collecting and development agencies. (Source: Donnybrook-Woodstock Infrastructure Contributions Plan.pdf, pp.6-7, 31) The transport network also links to adjoining or related infrastructure funding areas: the Cameron Street bridge is 50% funded by the Lockerbie DCP, and the Donnybrook Road pedestrian crossing is 50% funded by the Shenstone Park ICP. (Source: Donnybrook-Woodstock Infrastructure Contributions Plan.pdf, pp.11, 14)

The broader corridor relationship is visible in the transport map and project descriptions, which reference Lockerbie PSP, English Street PSP, Northern Quarries PSP, the OMR/E6 reservation, Donnybrook Road, Gunns Gully Road, Merri Creek, Darebin Creek and the Sydney-Melbourne railway. (Source: Donnybrook-Woodstock Infrastructure Contributions Plan.pdf, pp.10-14) These references matter because some road, bridge and pedestrian items are not precinct-contained; they connect the Donnybrook-Woodstock urban structure to neighbouring precincts and regional transport corridors. (Source: Donnybrook-Woodstock Infrastructure Contributions Plan.pdf, pp.10-14)

Gaps in This Analysis

The corpus is thin for amendment-process analysis. The available material supports the amended ICP’s cost, land, contribution and staging mechanisms, but it does not support a complete lifecycle account of Amendment GC198. (Source: web-research-L1-gc198-amendment-page-mitchell-planning-schemes.txt; Source: web-research-L1-gc198-amendment-page-planning-schemes.txt; Source: Donnybrook-Woodstock Infrastructure Contributions Plan.pdf)

The main gaps are: the GC198 explanatory report, instruction sheet, amendment ordinance or schedule changes, approval or gazettal notice, any Planning Panels Victoria material, council reports, submissions, and the full PSP or background technical reports that explain why each infrastructure item and land budget entry was selected. (Source: web-research-L1-gc198-amendment-page-mitchell-planning-schemes.txt; Source: web-research-L1-gc198-amendment-page-planning-schemes.txt) Without those documents, this page cannot verify the formal amendment status, amendment authorisation pathway, public exhibition issues, decision-maker reasoning, or whether any contested changes were made between exhibition and approval. (Source: web-research-L1-gc198-amendment-page-mitchell-planning-schemes.txt; Source: web-research-L1-gc198-amendment-page-planning-schemes.txt)

A further analytical gap is the absence of the full Donnybrook-Woodstock Precinct Structure Plan and technical background reports. The ICP repeatedly relies on the PSP for the urban structure, infrastructure rationale and land budget, but the manifest includes only the amended ICP and two non-rendered planning-scheme portal captures. (Source: Donnybrook-Woodstock Infrastructure Contributions Plan.pdf, pp.6-7, 9, 19; Source: web-research-L1-gc198-amendment-page-mitchell-planning-schemes.txt; Source: web-research-L1-gc198-amendment-page-planning-schemes.txt)

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