Moorabool Shire Rural Land Use Strategy

Moorabool Shire Council is currently developing a Rural Land Use Strategy to provide strategic vision and direction for the extensive rural areas throughout Moorabool Shire.

Moorabool Shire is characterised by a diverse range of rural landscapes, which include ranges, plains, gorges, and areas of significant agricultural and horticulture. More than 74% of the Shire comprises of water catchments, State Forests, State Parks and a National Park. There are also areas of rural living throughout the Shire. These unique landscapes and land uses provide for a range of unique issues and opportunities.

Council has undertaken extensive work in recent years to provide a strategic vision and direction for the small towns and settlements through the Small Towns and Settlements Strategy, 2016, in the Ballan area through the Ballan Strategic Directions, 2018 and in Bacchus Marsh through the Bacchus Marsh Housing Strategy, 2018 and the Bacchus Marsh Urban Growth Framework, 2018. There is currently a gap in the strategic vision and direction for the Shire’s extensive rural areas. The Planning Scheme Review – Literature review also identified a need for direction on rural land use in Moorabool Shire. Specifically, it revealed a number of issues associated with rural land use that are interconnected and require a holistic response.

At the same time that this Strategy is being developed, Council is also preparing the Bacchus Marsh Irrigation District Planning (BMID) Study which will review the current and ongoing agricultural viability of land within the BMID, provide direction on the future of the BMID and will recommend planning policy and controls for both the protection of, and development in the BMID. Further information on the Bacchus Marsh Irrigation District Planning Study can be found here.

(Please note that the survey is the same for both the Rural Land Use Strategy & the BMID Planning Study).