Amess Road

The land north of Amess Road was designated as a ‘priority residential development precinct’ in 2013 as the Riddells Creek Structure Plan was prepared and completed.

The Riddells Creek Structure Plan forms part of Council’s greater Settlement Strategy, which provides overall direction for urban growth consistent with environmental constraints, community aspirations and government policy until 2036.

The site has been zoned for urban growth since 2017, when Council and the Minister for Planning identified two future growth areas to the north and south of the existing town. This followed consultation with the community on the Riddells Creek Structure Plan, and the subsequent Planning Scheme Amendment C100 that rezoned the precinct from Rural Living Zone, Schedule 1 (RLZ1) to Urban Growth Zone (UGZ).

In order for the precinct to develop, a Precinct Structure Plan (PSP) must be prepared. A PSP provides a ‘blueprint’ for development and infrastructure investment that will occur over many years by outlining important features of the precinct for local communities such as roads, parks, key transport connections and areas for housing.

Completing the PSP process is vital to give everyone a clearer idea of the scale of how this, or other future proposals, might fit in with the identity and neighbourhood character of Riddells Creek and its surrounds. 

Since the approval of the site's rezoning to cater to urban growth in 2017, Council has been working with the developer to produce an appropriate PSP that responds to the character of Riddells Creek and achieves the best outcome possible for the community.

Most recently, this included the development of a revised proponent-led PSP for Council's consideration throughout 2022 and 2023, which was produced and refined through extensive consultation and detailed planning work. This culminated in a proposed planning scheme amendment to progress the draft Amess Road Precinct Structure Plan being tabled for endorsement at the April 2023 Planning Delegated Committee Meeting, where Council noted a submission received containing 1231 signatures and resolved not to support the proposal.

Documents produced during this process can be found here:

June 2022: Site Analysis and Key Ideas Summary Paper(PDF, 1MB)

July 2022: Community Engagement Report(PDF, 3MB)

August 2022: Community Consultation Response Report(PDF, 2MB)

November 2022: Community Planning Session - presentation(PDF, 1MB)

April 2023: April 2023 Planning Delegated Committee Meeting - attachments

Council understands that the Amess Road Precinct Structure Plan – which was rejected by Council at its April 2023 Planning Delegated Committee Meeting – has been submitted by the developer to the Victorian Government's Department of Transport and Planning through the Development Facilitation Program (DFP).

This would mean that Council is no longer the authority considering the PSP, but that it would be considered by the Department and Victorian Government.

Like the broader community, Council would have the option to become a submitter in this new process. Should it be made public for consultation on the Department’s website, Council would likely prepare a submission that would be finalised and made public through a future Council Meeting.