Kyneton

Kyneton Town Centre Urban Design Framework 

Council is refreshing Kyneton’s Town Centre Urban Design Framework (UDF).

The UDF will provide urban design direction for Kyneton’s streetscapes, public open spaces and buildings, focussed on the three main commercial streets: Mollison Street, High Street and Piper Street.

Phase 1 consultation closed on 26 February 2021. Thank you to everyone who participated by chatting to the project team, writing to us, or completing a survey. 

Submission results

Redacted versions of these written submissions are now available for public viewing, with all personal and identifiable details removed to meet privacy requirements.

We are currently reviewing the feedback received, and will use it to assess the current issues and opportunities affecting the town centre. This is turn will inform the draft UDF, including the priority projects and guidelines for new development. 

View the redacted submissions(PDF, 11MB)

About the project

The Kyneton Town Centre UDF will draw upon the positive elements of the township that people most value, while identifying opportunities to improve the function, appearance and safety of streetscapes and buildings.

A UDF helps set a community vision for areas to inform what they should look like, and the function they serve. These plans include the ability to bring together the social, visual and economic aspects that make areas unique.  UDFs are used to inform capital works and streetscape improvements, and planning controls for new developments.

The UDF will include:

  • A vision for the town centre that highlights the valued elements of township character to be enhanced and celebrated.
  • Concepts to improve the amenity and appearance of streetscapes with a focus on pedestrian safety and comfort, tree planting and landscaping.
  • Access and movement plans for how people will walk, ride and drive around the town centre.
  • Guidelines for contemporary buildings and streetscapes so that new proposals reflect the cultural, heritage and aesthetic values of Kyneton.
  • Design direction for Council and applicants in preparing and assessing development applications.

We will be consulting throughout the project to ensure that the UDF captures the community’s vision for the town centre.

All consultation information is available to view on the closed consultation page.

Why are we doing this?

A Urban Design Framework was prepared for Kyneton in 2008. This UDF was not adopted by Council, but formed part of the background to the 2013 Kyneton Structure Plan.

This project will review the actions from the 2008 UDF to see what has been done, what is still relevant, and what else needs to be included in the future.

Formal adoption of the plan by Council will be sought so that recognition is given to priority projects, and to support any future planning scheme amendments.

View the 2008 Kyneton Urban Design Framework.

What you have told us so far

We have gathered feedback from consultations that have been undertaken in Kyneton in recent years. In particular, a number of submissions received during consultation on the Kyneton Movement Network Study (2019) expressed a wish for Council to focus on issues existing within the town centre before addressing broader, long-term infrastructure requirements for the town.

Feedback relevant to the town centre has included the need for:

  • Improved wayfinding and promotional signage.
  • Direct and connected footpaths with good surfaces, crossing opportunities and safer pedestrian facilities.
  • Safe bicycle access in Kyneton’s main streets and to Kyneton railway station.
  • Improved car parking in the town centre, including accessible parking spaces.
  • Pedestrian crossing points that consider how to get people of different ages and abilities across the road safely.
  • Retention, maintenance and/or reinstatement of bluestone paving and infrastructure.
  • Greater recognition of Aboriginal cultural heritage.
  • Consideration of landscaping and trees in streets.
  • Clarity around the trade-off between pedestrian and footpath spaces, bike access, kerbside parking and vehicle access.

This list will be refined and updated following review of the feedback provided in Phase 1 consultation.

Former Kyneton Primary School Site

The community has made significant investment into the vision and future use for the old Kyneton Primary School site.

The Victorian Government announced funding for the future of the site in November 2020. Resolving what happens on the site itself is subject to the Expression of Interest process that is being run by the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP).

The site has been included in the study area boundary as there is an opportunity for the UDF to identify streetscape quality and access improvements to complement the work being undertaken by DELWP.

Outside the scope

The revised UDF will focus on the physical environment, such as landscaping, footpaths, building design, street furniture.

The UDF is not considering:

  • Broader movement and access throughout Kyneton, beyond the town centre. The UDF can address some of the issues previously identified by the Kyneton community, with focus on the commercial town centre. The UDF will be used to inform a re-draft of the Kyneton Movement Network Study, which will recommence following completion of the UDF. 
  • Land use zones or the types of businesses that operate in the town centre. This is influenced in town planning via zoning (through Structure Plans) and the planning applications process.
  • Community infrastructure such as education and child care, or Council support services such youth or aged facilities.
  • Residential streets. The UDF is focussing on the main streets in the commercial centre, rather than residential streets, except where they intersect with the main shopping streets.
  • The old Kyneton Primary School Site. This is currently being managed through an Expression of Interest (EOI) process by the Department of Environment, Land, Water, and Planning (DELWP). Funding for its development by the State Government was announced in November 2020. The study area boundary has included the site to consider identification of streetscape improvements, however what occurs within the site such as management and use options, will be subject to DELWP’s EOI process.

The connection between the UDF, the Kyneton South Framework Plan and the Kyneton Movement Network Study:

  • Council commenced the Kyneton South Framework Plan (KSFP) in 2016. The KSFP was undertaken to ensure that potential growth in Kyneton South is coordinated, planned and integrated with the existing township. The KSFP would enable Council and other service agencies to consider and anticipate likely infrastructure and service upgrades that may be required to service the growth in Kyneton South.
  • On commencing the KSFP it was identified that the Kyneton Movement Network Infrastructure Study 2010 required updating. The update of this study was renamed the Kyneton Movement Network Study (KMNS) and coupled with the KSFP to guide the planning of any future infrastructure requirements and ensure growth areas are provided with an integrated and functional movement network.
  • Officers exhibited the Kyneton Movement Network Study (KMNS) to the community in May 2019.  Feedback through the consultation process identified that the community felt the KMNS focussed too much on the growth area and required more focus on movement challenges in the existing township.

The UDF can address some of the current movement network needs identified by the Kyneton community, with focus on the issues that currently exist in central Kyneton. Movement network investigations undertaken as part of the UDF will help prioritise the existing short and medium term needs of the Kyneton township. This information will then inform the KMNS and KSFP on their recommencement.

Next steps

The project team is currently reviewing all the feedback received during Phase 1 consultation. This will support Council’s analysis of the issues and opportunities that currently exist in the town centre.

In the coming months, officers will develop the draft UDF. We will then seek Council endorsement of the draft, and present it to the community for feedback in the second half of 2021.

Stay informed

If you have any questions, contact Strategic Planning on (03) 5422 0333 or email strategicplanning@mrsc.vic.gov.au

Flood mapping review

A review of flood mapping was recently undertaken by North Central Catchment Management Authority (NCCMA) who are responsible for determining the potential inundation of land from river and creeks within the region. The purpose of the flooding study was to ensure that the flooding provisions in the Macedon Ranges Planning Scheme accurately reflect flooding risk. This is measured as a 1 in 100 year event.

The findings of the flood study

The flood study recommends changes to areas in and around Kyneton currently subject to the ‘Land Subject to Inundation Overlay’ (LSIO) in the Macedon Ranges Planning Scheme. In some cases the extent of the LSIO is recommended to be reduced and in other cases it is recommended to be extended. 

Letters, a flood zone map(PDF, 3MB) and a frequently asked questions fact sheet(DOCX, 168KB) / frequently asked questions fact sheet(PDF, 88KB) have been sent to owners of land that has been identified in a review of flood mapping in the Kyneton area, including Carlsruhe.

Amendment C99: Implementation of the Kyneton Structure Plan

Planning Scheme Amendment C99, which implements the Kyneton Structure Plan into the Macedon Ranges Planning Scheme, has been approved by the Minister for Planning and was gazetted on 15 June 2017.

The structure plan articulates the vision and strategic framework for how the town will accommodate projected population growth through to the year 2036. The amendment translates the priorities identified in the structure plan into detailed planning controls and policies.

Key changes

  • New local planning policy content for Kyneton (MSS Clause 21.13-2) to implement the key directions from the structure plan, including specific objectives for residential precincts.
  • All residential land within the township boundary has been rezoned from General Residential Zone to Neighbourhood Residential Zone. Mandatory minimum lot sizes are specified for the Kyneton Large Lot residential precinct where low levels of change are envisaged.
  • Specific siting and design requirements to the Neighbourhood Residential Zones to protect neighbourhood character. These controls lift the current standard for all residential development to help ensure new houses integrate with their surrounds. The controls include a mandatory maximum height limit of 9 metres for all dwellings in the Neighbourhood Residential Zone.
  • Rezoning of land at 17–27 Latrobe Street from Industrial 1 to Industrial 3 to facilitate light industrial uses and warehousing and manage the interface with adjoining sensitive uses.
  • Rezoning of land at 88–92 Wedge Street from Industrial 1 Zone (IN1Z) to Neighbourhood Residential Zone Schedule 10 (NRZ10), and applying the Environmental Audit Overlay (EAO) and the Development Plan Overlay (DPO) to the land. The DPO is also applied to adjoining land at 85A Ebden Street.
  • Rezoning of land at 83 Edgecombe Road from Industrial 2 (IN2Z) to Industrial 1 (IN1Z).
  • Rezoning of land at the western end of the block bounded by Baynton Street, Ebden Street, Jennings Street and Mollison Street from General Residential (GRZ) to Commercial 1 (C1Z).
  • Rezoning of land in the east of the township bounded by Bourke Street, High Street and the Calder Freeway from Industrial 1 (IN1Z) to Commercial 2 (C2Z).
  • Introducing an Environmental Significance Overlay around the Kyneton Recycled Water Plant to protect the operations of the facility.
  • Introducing the Kyneton Town Structure Plan and Kyneton Neighbourhood Character Precinct Profiles as reference documents.

Approved Amendment Documents

Enquiries

If you have any questions in relation to the above matter, or to make an appointment to speak to a Council officer, call us on (03) 5422 0333 or email strategicplanning@mrsc.vic.gov.au

Draft Kyneton South Framework Plan

The Kyneton Structure Plan identifies an investigation area south of the Campaspe River as an area for potential medium to long term future residential growth. The draft framework plan(PDF, 4MB) has been prepared to assist Council in assessing the medium to long term growth potential by providing an understanding of the land use, open space and environment, servicing, transport, employment, heritage, housing and education issues that need to be considered in any future development of the area.

Project status

The Kyneton South Framework Plan is currently on hold, pending further work to be undertaken as part of the Kyneton Movement Network Study, which includes consideration of the Framework Plan area.

When work on the project resumes, the Framework Plan will be reviewed and updated to account for any policy, demographic and other changes that have occurred in the intervening period. The most significant of these will be the introduction of the Macedon Ranges Statement of Planning Policy in 2019. The Statement is designed to ensure that protection of Macedon Ranges' unique environmental and landscape attributes is uppermost when assessing future growth and development in the Shire.

Find out more

If you have any questions, contact the Strategic Planning team on (03) 5422 0333 or email strategicplanning@mrsc.vic.gov.au