title: Ballan Precinct 5 Growth Area council: moorabool state: vic category: growth-area classification: MAJOR status: in-progress last_compiled: 2026-05-31 source_docs:
- moorabool-c108moor-panel-report.pdf
Ballan Precinct 5 Growth Area
Ballan Precinct 5 is the first Ballan Framework Plan greenfield precinct to move into rezoning, using Amendment C108moor to shift land from rural living to a master-planned residential framework at Ballan’s western edge (Source: moorabool-c108moor-panel-report.pdf, pp.7, 11). Its planning significance is not just land supply; at full development the Panel described it as capable of almost doubling Ballan, while also placing the Werribee River corridor, arterial-road interfaces, water and sewer augmentation, drainage assets, cultural heritage management and local infrastructure delivery into one linked statutory package (Source: moorabool-c108moor-panel-report.pdf, pp.7-9, 51-53).
Background
The subject land is bounded by the Western Freeway, Geelong-Ballan Road, Old Melbourne Road and the Werribee River, with a disused Barwon Water aqueduct crossing the western part of the land (Source: moorabool-c108moor-panel-report.pdf, p.11). Amendment C108moor proposes to rezone the land from Rural Living Zone to Neighbourhood Residential Zone Schedule 10, apply Development Plan Overlay Schedule 9, apply Vegetation Protection Overlay Schedule 2, apply the Environmental Audit Overlay to 5580 Geelong-Ballan Road, delete the obsolete Design and Development Overlay Schedule 2 from the land, and make associated mapping and administrative changes (Source: moorabool-c108moor-panel-report.pdf, p.11).
The strategic origin is the Ballan Framework Plan, which was introduced into the Moorabool Planning Scheme through Amendment C88moor and identifies Precinct 5 as greenfield growth, with lower-density and larger-allotment edges and proposed open space along the Werribee River corridor (Source: moorabool-c108moor-panel-report.pdf, p.17). The Panel found the amendment strategically justified because Ballan has long been identified for additional residential growth, because an Ethos Urban Residential Retail Assessment identified only 2.9 years of residential land supply in Ballan, and because Clause 11 does not direct other Ballan precincts to be delivered before Precinct 5 (Source: moorabool-c108moor-panel-report.pdf, pp.18-19).
The amendment was authorised on 5 August 2024, exhibited from 24 January to 3 March 2025, received 68 submissions, and was heard by a Planning Panels Victoria Panel from 23 to 31 July 2025 (Source: moorabool-c108moor-panel-report.pdf, p.5). The Panel report is dated 10 September 2025 and recommends Council adopt Amendment C108moor as exhibited, with changes to DPO9 and VPO2 mapping (Source: moorabool-c108moor-panel-report.pdf, pp.5, 9-10).
Analysis
Statutory Mechanism and Development Control
The amendment uses DPO9 as the main sequencing and coordination tool, rather than a full Precinct Structure Plan and Development Contributions Plan model (Source: moorabool-c108moor-panel-report.pdf, pp.47, 82-90). In practical terms, this means the planning scheme would not itself lock in every infrastructure cost, land budget and delivery trigger; instead, DPO9 requires a development plan supported by a Site and Context Analysis, Masterplan, Affordable and Social Housing Assessment, Public Open Space and Landscape Masterplan, Arboricultural Assessment, Biodiversity Management Plan, Acoustic Design Response Plan, Integrated Transport Management Plan, Integrated Water Management Plan, Infrastructure Servicing Plan, Heritage Assessment and Bushfire Management Plan (Source: moorabool-c108moor-panel-report.pdf, pp.84-90).
The Panel supported the Neighbourhood Residential Zone even though the General Residential Zone is more usual for greenfield growth areas, because Precinct 5 has a river interface, freeway edge, arterial-road gateways and rural interfaces that distinguish it from standard metropolitan growth fronts (Source: moorabool-c108moor-panel-report.pdf, pp.19-21). The mechanism matters: the NRZ imposes a mandatory two-storey or 9 metre height limit but does not impose density controls, and the Panel accepted that it would still allow conventional lots, medium-density housing near open space and retail uses, and larger interface lots around sensitive edges (Source: moorabool-c108moor-panel-report.pdf, pp.18-21). The Panel also stated this does not create a template for Ballan’s other greenfield precincts, which is important because other precincts may not have the same river, freeway and gateway constraints (Source: moorabool-c108moor-panel-report.pdf, pp.20-21).
Council’s post-exhibition attempt to require an average 600 square metre lot size in conventional residential areas was rejected because the Panel considered it a weak character-control tool that could reduce flexibility over the 10 to 15 year development period expected for Precinct 5 (Source: moorabool-c108moor-panel-report.pdf, pp.22-23). The Panel’s preferred mechanism is edge design, road layout, canopy cover, interface lots and development-plan assessment, rather than a precinct-wide average lot-size rule (Source: moorabool-c108moor-panel-report.pdf, pp.22-23, 84-86).
Land Use Structure, Character and Local Centre
The concept is a greenfield residential precinct separated from established Ballan by the Werribee River, with a 100 metre river corridor, larger lots and lower-density treatments at sensitive edges, and a central area for conventional and medium-density housing (Source: moorabool-c108moor-panel-report.pdf, pp.7, 29-31). The Panel accepted that Precinct 5 will form its own character rather than replicate older parts of Ballan, because the river separation limits direct character conflict with established neighbourhoods and the main visual issue is how the new western edge presents to Old Melbourne Road, Geelong-Ballan Road, the Western Freeway and the Werribee River corridor (Source: moorabool-c108moor-panel-report.pdf, pp.28-33).
The local commercial centre is deliberately small: the Panel recommended retaining a centre with a maximum net floor area of 1,000 square metres, serving day-to-day needs rather than competing with the Ballan town centre (Source: moorabool-c108moor-panel-report.pdf, pp.24-25, 85). The unresolved design question is location, because the exhibited position co-locates retail with the community facility and active open space, while an alternative southern location could better align with medium-density housing and internal accessibility (Source: moorabool-c108moor-panel-report.pdf, pp.24-25). This is not a minor layout issue: if the centre remains near the Werribee River edge, higher-activity uses are concentrated close to the river interface; if it shifts south, the community hub becomes more central but may change active open space and community facility relationships (Source: moorabool-c108moor-panel-report.pdf, pp.24-25, 45-47).
Werribee River Corridor, Biodiversity and Drainage
The Werribee River corridor is the controlling environmental feature in the precinct (Source: moorabool-c108moor-panel-report.pdf, pp.29-31, 34-40). The Development Concept Plan sets aside land within 100 metres of the river as the river corridor, and the Panel treated retention and revegetation of this corridor as the amendment’s most important ecological outcome (Source: moorabool-c108moor-panel-report.pdf, pp.29, 38-39). High-value native vegetation is mainly in the river corridor and remnant areas along the aqueduct, while most of the subject land is dominated by introduced species (Source: moorabool-c108moor-panel-report.pdf, pp.35-36).
The source material exposes a real evidence tension. The Nature Advisory Flora and Fauna Assessment surveyed only the proponent’s Parcel 5 and relied on desktop assessment for other parcels, with autumn and winter survey timing that may have missed seasonal species (Source: moorabool-c108moor-panel-report.pdf, p.35). The proponent’s ecology expert identified six missed native vegetation patches, one missed scattered tree, a reclassification issue, and evidence of the EPBC-listed Matted Flax-lily along the aqueduct (Source: moorabool-c108moor-panel-report.pdf, p.36). The Panel still accepted that the combined assessment and expert evidence were sufficient for rezoning, but required targeted future flora and fauna surveys at the right time of year and a VPO2 mapping correction for Habitat Zone Patch A (Source: moorabool-c108moor-panel-report.pdf, pp.38-40).
Drainage is linked to both ecology and cultural heritage. The Stormwater Management Strategy was based on Melbourne Water’s 2017 Ballan North Development Services Scheme, which showed three wetland retarding basins; the amendment’s SWMS consolidates these into two wetland retarding basins, with Melbourne Water giving in-principle agreement (Source: moorabool-c108moor-panel-report.pdf, p.48). The Panel accepted evidence that developable land and key infrastructure sit above the 1 percent Annual Exceedance Probability flood extent, that the escarpment is 8 to 12 metres above the lower Werribee River land, and that Werribee River flooding would not create a flood risk to the precinct (Source: moorabool-c108moor-panel-report.pdf, pp.48-51). The IWM mechanism is therefore less about preventing river flooding and more about managing stormwater quality, outfall stability, sediment, litter, erosion, climate-change rainfall modelling and safe discharge into the river (Source: moorabool-c108moor-panel-report.pdf, pp.49-51, 89).
Cultural Heritage and the Escarpment Constraint
The highest archaeological potential is on the escarpment, which is also where wetland retarding basins and active open space are proposed (Source: moorabool-c108moor-panel-report.pdf, p.64). Melbourne Water sought a 200 metre Cultural Values Investigation Area from the river and wanted drainage assets moved outside that area unless cultural heritage approval allowed them back in, citing other precincts where cultural heritage discoveries delayed or prevented drainage assets (Source: moorabool-c108moor-panel-report.pdf, pp.65-66). The Panel rejected that approach because it was not supported by Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation, was not contemplated in the draft Cultural Heritage Management Plan, and could materially affect the development concept without proof that alternative drainage locations would work (Source: moorabool-c108moor-panel-report.pdf, pp.66-68).
The adopted mechanism is flexibility rather than pre-emptive relocation. DPO9 is recommended to state that changes to the size, type, staging or location of drainage assets, active open space, community facilities and commercial facilities can still be generally in accordance with Map 1 if needed in response to cultural heritage considerations and if the intended function is maintained (Source: moorabool-c108moor-panel-report.pdf, pp.67-68, 91). This is a significant delivery risk because the CHMP may require salvage, redesign or staging changes, but the Panel considered the risk manageable because WTOAC had given in-principle support to the drainage assets and active open space being on top of the escarpment subject to salvage works (Source: moorabool-c108moor-panel-report.pdf, pp.66-68).
Open Space, Community Infrastructure and Contributions
The open space package comprises an active open space reserve co-located with a community facility, three local parks, and no school reservation (Source: moorabool-c108moor-panel-report.pdf, pp.41-42). The Public Open Space Provision Needs Assessment recommended 2.2 hectares of passive open space across three parks, 4.5 hectares of active open space including an oval and sports pavilion, and 6.7 hectares of unencumbered public open space (Source: moorabool-c108moor-panel-report.pdf, p.42). A Community Facilities and Education Needs Assessment supported a medium-sized multipurpose facility with 900 square metres of floorspace on a 0.8 hectare site, but the Panel accepted a smaller 0.5 hectare land allocation because co-location with active open space can reduce land needs (Source: moorabool-c108moor-panel-report.pdf, pp.42, 45-47).
The contribution mechanism is a section 173 agreement supported by a Shared Infrastructure Funding Plan, not a formal DCP (Source: moorabool-c108moor-panel-report.pdf, pp.47, 82-83). This is administratively simpler where much land is under single ownership, but it leaves a transparency gap because the Shared Infrastructure Funding Plan was not exhibited, was not listed in DPO9, and no final version was tabled to the Panel (Source: moorabool-c108moor-panel-report.pdf, p.47). The Panel therefore supported the section 173 approach but made no finding on whether the apportionments were appropriate, including the shift from an earlier 30 to 33 percent precinct funding estimate for the active open space and sports pavilion to a 100 percent precinct allocation in later evidence (Source: moorabool-c108moor-panel-report.pdf, pp.43, 47).
School provision remains a monitoring issue rather than a statutory reservation. The Panel accepted evidence that Precinct 5 does not itself create the need for a new school, that no immediate secondary or second primary school need was identified, and that the Department of Education had not requested land (Source: moorabool-c108moor-panel-report.pdf, pp.44-45). The dependency is temporal: if Ballan growth accelerates before 2041, Council and the Department of Education will need to revisit provision outside the amendment’s fixed land-use structure (Source: moorabool-c108moor-panel-report.pdf, pp.44-45).
Servicing, Transport and Noise
Water and sewer are early-stage capacity constraints. The Infrastructure Servicing Report concluded the land can be serviced but most services will need developer-funded augmentation, with initial development capped at 60 to 100 lots for sewerage and up to 300 lots for water until further augmentation is delivered (Source: moorabool-c108moor-panel-report.pdf, p.51). Central Highlands Water did not oppose the amendment and confirmed the precinct could be serviced, but warned that multiple concurrent Ballan growth fronts could complicate long-term infrastructure planning and funding (Source: moorabool-c108moor-panel-report.pdf, pp.51-53). The Panel treated other precincts as outside the amendment’s scope, while encouraging ongoing coordination between CHW, Council and landowners across Ballan’s growth precincts (Source: moorabool-c108moor-panel-report.pdf, pp.52-53).
Transport evidence found the surrounding road network can accommodate Precinct 5 traffic without unacceptable congestion, using a conservative peer-review trip generation rate of 10 vehicle movements per day per household after comparison with local 2025 tube counts averaging 5.9 vehicle movements per day per household (Source: moorabool-c108moor-panel-report.pdf, pp.55-57). The main unresolved transport item is the Geelong-Ballan Road and Old Melbourne Road intersection, where the issue is safety and timing rather than capacity (Source: moorabool-c108moor-panel-report.pdf, pp.57-59). DPO9 requires a section 173 agreement with the responsible authority and Head, Transport for Victoria, including a Transport Impact Assessment before the statement of compliance for the stage producing the 600th lot to identify triggers for interim works or a contribution to the ultimate roundabout (Source: moorabool-c108moor-panel-report.pdf, pp.82-83).
The active transport network is supported, but a new Werribee River shared-path bridge was rejected because it was not shown in strategic plans, lacked a clear destination on the eastern side, and carried unresolved ecological and cultural heritage feasibility issues (Source: moorabool-c108moor-panel-report.pdf, pp.59-62). A possible shared path along the disused aqueduct remains conceptually relevant because the aqueduct may contain ecological and historical values, but the Panel considered it premature until targeted surveys confirm the extent of biodiversity values and master-planning implications (Source: moorabool-c108moor-panel-report.pdf, pp.61-62).
Noise is a hard edge condition along the Western Freeway and other road interfaces. The Acoustic Assessment found noise barriers, either walls or bunds, may need to reach approximately 7 metres in places, and facade treatments may also be required for affected dwellings (Source: moorabool-c108moor-panel-report.pdf, pp.32-33, 72). The Panel accepted that noise can be managed through an Acoustic Design Response Plan, with mitigation costs borne by developers or future home builders as appropriate, and with visual coherence required along the freeway and other precinct edges (Source: moorabool-c108moor-panel-report.pdf, pp.72-73, 88).
Current Status
As at the source record, Amendment C108moor is post-Panel and not shown in the manifest as approved or gazetted (Source: moorabool-c108moor-panel-report.pdf, pp.5, 9-10). The Panel recommends Council adopt the amendment with changes, including DPO9 revisions, removal of the 600 square metre average lot-size requirement, removal of mandatory social and affordable housing title restrictions, stronger wildlife-lighting and sediment controls, deletion of required shared-path river crossing provisions, acoustic cost clarification, intersection contribution wording, and VPO2 mapping correction for Habitat Zone Patch A (Source: moorabool-c108moor-panel-report.pdf, pp.9-10, 22-23, 39-40, 62, 70-73, 82-91).
The next statutory steps are Council decision, submission to the Minister for Planning if adopted, ministerial approval if supported, and gazettal before the planning scheme changes take legal effect (Source: moorabool-c108moor-panel-report.pdf, p.2). The manifest status of the initiative is pending, so this page should be updated when Council’s adoption decision, the Minister’s decision and the final gazetted controls are available (Source: moorabool-c108moor-panel-report.pdf, p.2).
Dependencies
- Blocks: Urban subdivision of Precinct 5 at scale, because DPO9 requires an approved development plan and supporting plans before ordinary subdivision, buildings and works permits can proceed (Source: moorabool-c108moor-panel-report.pdf, pp.82-90).
- Blocked by: Council adoption, ministerial approval, gazettal, approved DPO9 development plan, CHMP resolution, water and sewer augmentation after initial lot caps, section 173 agreements for contributions and intersection upgrades, Melbourne Water and DTP Transport requirements, and detailed biodiversity and drainage design (Source: moorabool-c108moor-panel-report.pdf, pp.2, 51-53, 64-68, 82-90).
- Informed by: Ballan Strategic Directions, Ballan Framework Plan, Ethos Urban Residential Retail Assessment, Nature Advisory Flora and Fauna Assessment, Spiire Stormwater Management Strategy, Public Open Space Provision Needs Assessment, Community Facilities and Education Needs Assessment, Infrastructure Servicing Report, Traffix Group Traffic Engineering Assessment, Noise Impact Assessment, Bushfire Hazard Assessment and draft Cultural Heritage Management Plan, as reported through the Panel record (Source: moorabool-c108moor-panel-report.pdf, pp.17-19, 34-35, 41-42, 48, 51, 54-55, 64, 72).
- Implements: Ballan Framework Plan, Ballan Strategic Directions, Amendment C88moor policy directions and local planning policy identifying Ballan for additional residential growth (Source: moorabool-c108moor-panel-report.pdf, pp.17-19).
- Conflicts with: Community submissions seeking stronger protection of the Werribee River corridor, larger lot sizes, different growth sequencing, a conservation outcome along the aqueduct, and different treatment of cultural heritage risk; the Panel accepted some refinements but rejected the main alternative controls (Source: moorabool-c108moor-panel-report.pdf, pp.18, 22-23, 37-40, 59-62, 64-68).
Cross-Jurisdictional Links
The precinct depends on state and regional infrastructure actors rather than Council alone. Central Highlands Water must plan water and sewer augmentation, Melbourne Water is central to waterway setbacks, drainage assets and Werribee River outfalls, DTP Transport controls arterial-road and intersection matters, DEECA has biodiversity oversight, CFA has bushfire input, EPA and DTP Transport inform noise controls, Heritage Victoria administers post-contact archaeological protection, and WTOAC is central to Aboriginal cultural heritage management (Source: moorabool-c108moor-panel-report.pdf, pp.35-40, 51-53, 57-59, 64-73, 82-90).
The most important cross-precinct issue is servicing Ballan’s broader growth front. CHW warned that concurrent growth fronts can complicate infrastructure funding and sequencing, while Ballan Dev Co and Ballan South argued that servicing authorities should align operational planning with adopted strategic growth policy rather than constrain growth sequencing (Source: moorabool-c108moor-panel-report.pdf, pp.51-53). The Panel did not resolve a whole-of-Ballan servicing program because C108moor concerns only Precinct 5, so a Ballan growth area servicing strategy remains a critical missing layer for understanding whether Precinct 5 can proceed alongside other Ballan precinct investigations (Source: moorabool-c108moor-panel-report.pdf, pp.52-53).
Gaps in This Analysis
This page is limited by a one-document manifest. The Panel Report is authoritative for the hearing findings, but it is not a substitute for the exhibited amendment package, final adopted DPO9, gazettal record, full Development Concept Plan, Shared Infrastructure Funding Plan, Infrastructure Servicing Report, SWMS, traffic assessment, flora and fauna assessment, acoustic report, open space assessment, community facilities assessment, draft and final CHMP, submission set, and Council adoption report (Source: moorabool-c108moor-panel-report.pdf, pp.34-35, 41-42, 47-48, 51, 54-55, 64, 72, 82-91).
The most consequential analytical gap is land budget and yield. The Panel states the precinct would almost double Ballan and identifies lot-size bands in DPO9, but the supplied source does not provide a complete gross area, net developable area, dwelling yield, dwelling density, land-take table, per-lot infrastructure cost, DCP-style levy or final contribution schedule (Source: moorabool-c108moor-panel-report.pdf, pp.7, 47, 84-91). Without those documents, this page cannot quantify how much developable land is removed by the Werribee River corridor, wetland retarding basins, active open space, community facilities, road widening, acoustic barriers, heritage areas or vegetation protection (Source: moorabool-c108moor-panel-report.pdf, pp.29-40, 41-48, 64-68, 72-73).
A second gap is final statutory status. The source records the Panel recommendation dated 10 September 2025, but not whether Council adopted the amendment, whether the Minister approved it, or whether a final gazetted version changed the Panel’s recommended DPO9 (Source: moorabool-c108moor-panel-report.pdf, pp.2, 5, 9-10). This should be tracked in _gaps as a critical Tier 1 gap because the legal effect of the growth area depends on the approved amendment, not the Panel recommendation alone (Source: moorabool-c108moor-panel-report.pdf, p.2).
Final Statutory Evidence Guardrail
For production advice, this page must distinguish Panel support from operative planning-scheme law. Unless final Council adoption, Ministerial approval and gazettal are cited on the page, the status remains post-Panel/final statutory evidence missing rather than approved.