Maddingley Planning Study Project Overview
Council has commenced the preparation of the Maddingley Planning Study. The aim of the Maddingley Planning Study is to investigate options for non‑sensitive land uses in Maddingley Investigation Areas A and B (see Figure 1 below, orange hatching), identify appropriate buffer tools for land uses with adverse amenity potential (including the Maddingley Waste and Resource Recovery Hub), determine appropriate planning zone and overlay controls for the study area, and identify future infrastructure requirements.
(Note*: ‘Sensitive land uses’ include any land uses which require a particular focus on protecting the beneficial uses of the air environment relating to human health and wellbeing, local amenity and aesthetic enjoyment, for example residential premises, child care centres, pre‑schools, education centres or informal outdoor recreation sites.)
Figure 1: Extract from UGF plan 1, showing the study area for the Maddingley Planning Study outlined in dark blue.
Next Steps
Following this initial consultation phase on the Background Report, which concluded in July 2020, a draft Maddingley Planning Study will be prepared. The draft Maddingley Planning Study will then be reported to Council, with a view to exhibiting the document for broader community consideration.
A planning scheme amendment will ultimately be required to implement the outcomes of the Maddingley Planning Study.
A project timeline summary is included in the page below for your information.
Project Background
The need for the Maddingley Planning Study is identified in the Bacchus Marsh Urban Growth Framework (UGF) which was adopted by Council in September 2018. Moorabool Planning Scheme Amendment C81 which was gazetted on 6 December 2018, resulted in the UGF plan and key objectives and strategies being inserted into local planning policies and the UGF document itself being listed as a reference document.
The Maddingley Planning Study is an important strategic planning project, as it will provide direction for future statutory planning decisions, by recommending an updated suite of planning controls for land within the study area and land within buffers (sometimes referred to as ‘separation distances’) to the Maddingley Waste and Resource Recovery (WRR) Hub.
A key driver for the Maddingley Planning Study is the recognition that the Maddingley WRR Hub is currently within the Special Use Zone 1 - Coal Mining (SUZ1), with the current planning controls failing to acknowledge the role of the site as a State significant WRR hub. The SUZ1 also applies to land beyond the mining licence boundary, which is a cause of concern for affected landowners with no association with the WRR hub.