Yarra City Council is proposing to introduce permanent built form and design requirements for Bridge Road, Richmond and Victoria Street, Richmond/Abbotsford and some of the surrounding area.
These changes will help guide potential future development, ensure development is sensitive to heritage buildings and minimises impacts on sensitive residential interfaces such as backyards and public spaces like footpaths, parks and expanded street corners.
The permanent built form and design requirements will be introduced through an amendment to the Yarra Planning Scheme known as Draft Amendment C291yara.
Council has now submitted the draft amendment to the Minister for Planning for approval.
Below are the adopted draft amendment documents that have been submitted:
What stage is this draft amendment at and what are the next steps?
There are six stages in the draft amendment process. The draft amendment is currently at the final stage of the process.
The draft amendment was publicly exhibited in September - October 2021 with 122 submissions received. The submissions were considered by the Council in December 2021. Council proposed a number of changes to the amendment in response to submissions.
Following the consideration of all submissions by the Council in December 2021, the Minister for Planning referred the draft Amendment C291yara to the Yarra Activity Centre Standing Advisory Committee.
A hearing was held to consider the draft amendment in April 2022.
The Committee has prepared a report [ PDF, 2.6 MB] that considers the draft Amendment and provides recommendations.
The Council considered the Committee's findings and recommendations on 2 August 2022 [ PDF, 92.16 MB] . At that meeting, the Council resolved [ PDF, 481.04 KB] to support the Committee's recommendations with changes and request the Minister for Planning to approve the Amendment in the Council's preferred form.
The Committee has prepared two reports
- Report 1 contains background and planning context matters common to planning scheme amendments which the Committee has considered. The Committee has considered two Amendments: Amendment C291yara and C293yara - Collingwood South Precinct.
- Report 3 considers the draft Amendment C291yara and provides recommendations to the draft Amendment.
Standing Advisory Committee Hearing
Following public exhibition of the draft amendment, the Council considered submissions at its 21 December 2021 meeting. Council resolved to request the Minister for Planning refer the draft Amendment to the Yarra Activity Centres Standing Advisory Committee (the Committee).
The Minister for Planning referred the draft amendment and submissions to the Committee in early 2022.All submitters to the draft amendment were advised of the Standing Advisory Committee Hearing (Hearing) to consider the draft amendment and provided with an opportunity to be heard. The Directions Hearing was held on 4 March 2022. The main hearing was held for 12 days between 4 - 22 April 2022.
In its meeting on the 21 December 2021 Council resolved to request the Minister for Planning refer draft Amendment C291yara to the Yarra Activity Centre Standing Advisory Committee.
At the 21 December 2021 Council meeting, the Council recommended additional changes to the amendment. These formed the Council’s advocacy position at the Yarra Activity Centres Standing Advisory Committee hearing.
What are the proposed changes to the Planning Scheme?
The draft amendment proposes to:
- replace the two interim Design and Development Overlay Schedules, DDO21 and DDO22 with 10 new permanent Design and Development Overlay Schedules (DDO41 to DDO50) to the Bridge Road and Victoria Street Activity Centres.
- insert new policy on both Victoria Street and Bridge Road Activity Centres in the Local Area Policy at Clause 21.12. This would include Preferred Future Character Statements and policy covering built form and heritage, access and movement and public realm. (UPDATE - The Adopted Version of the amendment also includes a new policy at Clause 11.03-1L.)
- introduce the background documents which informed the new requirement as reference documents in in the planning scheme at Clause 21.11. (UPDATE - The Adopted Version of the amendment has relocated background documents to Clause 72.08 Background Documents)
The draft amendment makes some minor changes to the boundaries of the DDOs and includes Commercial 2 zoned land outside the interim DDO on the south-western side of Burnley Street as the area contains large sites with high development potential.
The draft amendment does not include any changes to the land use zoning or to the Heritage Overlay.
What controls are currently in place for the area?
At the moment, there are temporary requirements (interim DDO21 – Bridge Road Activity Centre and DDO22 – Victoria Street Centre) that apply to the two centres.
These will expire on 30 June 2025 under heading what controls are currently in place for the area. The permanent requirements that are proposed in Amendment C291 would replace interim DDO21 and DDO22.
Proposed Precincts and DDOs
The draft amendment splits Bridge Road and Victoria Street Activity Centres into 10 different precincts. Tailored built form and design requirements (Design and Development Overlays) apply to each precinct. The Design and Development Overlays (DDOs) set requirements for the height, form and the general design of buildings. The amendment also includes new policy which describes the proposed future character of the 10 precincts in Clause 21.11 – Local Areas.
The maps below and the tiles tell you more about the ten precincts and proposed new provisions.
There is more information about what the amendment is trying to achieve underneath the tiles.
View the map below to see which DDO applies to your property or you are close to.
Bridge Road - Design and Development Overlays DDO41-45
Victoria Street - Design and Development Overlays DDO46-50
What is this Amendment trying to achieve?
One of the roles of the amendment is to guide how the 10 precincts might look and feel in the future. New policy in Clause 21.11 [ PDF, 1.28 MB] – Local Areas which describes the proposed future character of the 10 new precincts.
The Design and Development Overlays (DDOs) are the planning tools that are applied to areas to set the built form and design requirements which are needed for new development. If you want to know more about DDOs see the General Design and Development Overlay (DDO) Information Sheet [ PDF, 1.18 MB] .
The ten draft DDOs guide different levels of development across the two activity centres. The DDOs aim to strike a balance between ensuring new buildings respond sensitively to heritage buildings and minimise their impacts on footpaths and parks and neighbouring residential areas whilst allowing commercial and mixed-use development.
How tall can buildings be?
The proposed overall building heights vary across the ten DDOs to respond to the context, opportunities for growth and unique character of each precinct. Heritage streetscapes, important public spaces and low-rise residential neighbourhoods have influenced the proposed heights.
The DDOs generally support lower mid-rise buildings with some taller buildings in appropriate areas. For the majority of the DDOs, buildings of between 5 to 8 storeys are supported. In some areas, lower heights of 3 and 4 storeys are proposed. For example, to protect views to important landmarks. Taller buildings of 8 to 12 storeys are encouraged in other areas where there are less heritage buildings or no neighbouring residential properties.
How has heritage been addressed?
In the DDOs, new buildings and additions are required to respond sensitively to heritage buildings and heritage streetscapes. They require the heritage streetscapes to be retained and any development above the heritage building to be pushed back. Mandatory overall building heights have also been applied to heritage buildings.
In other areas, where there are no defining heritage streetscapes, a new character would be created. In these areas, the height of street wall (the height of the building on the street) could be up to 15m (4 storeys). Taller parts of the building above 4 storeys would be pushed back by 3 to 6 metres. Overall building heights in these areas vary from 5 to 10 storeys.
What else do the DDOs cover?
The DDOs also include requirements that:
- ensure new buildings minimise any impacts on the amenity of adjoining low scale residential neighbourhoods such as overlooking or reducing sunlight to backyards.
- make sure future buildings do not block important views to landmarks such as to the Pelaco Sign, St Ignatius Church spire on Richmond Hill or the Richmond Town Hall Clocktower.
- ensure space between taller buildings
- retain sunlight to the footpath on Bridge Road, Victoria Street and other pedestrian and cycle routes
- manage vehicle and pedestrian access to properties
- manage the effects of wind and other building design requirements.
Mandatory and preferred requirements
The exhibited DDOs include a mix of mandatory and preferred requirements. Mandatory requirements must be met and cannot be varied. A discretionary (or preferred) requirement provides for flexibility in the approach how to achieve the required outcome.
More information on the precincts and DDOs
The Draft Amendment C291 - Project Information Sheet, the 10 Information Sheets for DDO41-50 and the formal Amendment Documents below, provide more information about the draft amendment.
If you want to know more about what DDOs can and cannot guide see the General Design and Development Overlay (DDO) Information Sheet [ PDF, 1.18 MB] . The Frequently Asked Questions - FAQs at the bottom of this page also provide more information.
Exhibited Draft Amendment Documents
Below are the draft amendment documents that were exhibited. Draft DDO41-40 and updates to Local Policy are proposed to become part of the Yarra Planning Scheme.
Note: Following the 21 December 2021 Council meeting, Council has adopted a preferred version of the draft amendment that is different from the exhibited versions below. Please refer to the Referred Documents above for the latest version of the draft amendment.
NOTE: An updated version of the Explanatory Report is available for download below. The map in the Explanatory Report showing the land affected by the draft amendment did not include the properties at 188, 194, 196A, 198 and 200 Burnley Street, and 21 and 23 Neptune Street, Richmond. The draft amendment does apply to these properties. It proposes to include them in Precinct 4 – Bridge Road East South under Schedule 44 to the Design and Development Overlay (DDO44). The map in the explanatory report has been updated to reflect this. The DDO44 on Council’s website is correct and does not contain the mapping error identified above.
The supporting documents below have helped to inform Amendment C291. They provide the strategic justification for the draft amendment.
Information sheets were prepared provide explanations about how the amendment was developed and what it is trying to achieve. They are not part of the formal amendment documentation.
The Council Meeting Report and Meeting Minutes can also assist you. They provide an overview of the draft amendment.
Background
Why have we prepared this Amendment?
The State Government requires local councils to address population and employment changes to meet their city’s needs. Activity centres have been identified as appropriate areas to accommodate growth as they have good access to employment, public transport and other amenities.
Victoria Street and Bridge Road are both identified as ‘major activity centres’. This means they need to play a significant role in both housing and employment. However, at the same time it is important to retain their heritage and local character.
Interim Design and Development Overlays (DDO21 – Bridge Road and DDO22 – Victoria Street) applied in late 2018 in response to development pressure will lapse in June 2022 and need to be replaced with permanent requirements. More information about the interim planning controls can be found on the Amendment C248 webpage.
The draft amendment progresses the permanent requirements which will help manage future change, ensure new development responds sensitively towards heritage buildings, footpaths, parks and expanded street corners and to provide greater certainty of built form outcomes.
How was the amendment prepared?
Council engaged urban design, heritage and traffic consultants to review the interim DDOs.
The recommendations of their reports provide the strategic work which underpins the draft amendment and have informed the permanent provisions for Victoria Street and Bridge Road.
How to find out more
Subject to Covid restrictions, a full hard copy of the draft amendment C291yara documentation can also be viewed at:
- Planning Counter, Richmond Town Hall, 333 Bridge Road, Richmond
- Collingwood Town Hall, 140 Hoddle Street, Abbotsford
If you would like to find out more about the draft amendment, please call 9205 5555 to talk to a strategic planner.
An activity centre is usually based around a shopping strip. They are locations with good access to services, employment opportunities, public transport and other amenities. Yarra has a well-established network of activity centres that play a key role in accommodating most of the commercial and residential growth of Yarra.
A Design and Development Overlay (DDO) is a planning tool that is applied to areas such as activity centres that need specific requirements to guide the built form and design of new development.
The scale and density of developments approved and currently being proposed in Yarra’s activity centres has increased substantially in recent years. Hence, Council is using Design and Development Overlays to help guide these potential future developments within the activity centres.
Further information explaining what a DDO does can be found in our General DDO Information Sheet [ PDF, 1.18 MB] .
Most of Yarra's DDOs contain a mix of preferred and mandatory requirements.
The Victorian Planning system prefers the use of preferred requirements as they provide flexibility to respond to local context and unique urban conditions of a site or an area.
The Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning has developed a series of planning practice notes to provide guidance on the appropriate use of mandatory and preferred requirements. For further information please check PPN59 and PPN60.
Mandatory requirements are applied only when they are seen as 'absolutely necessary' to achieve the preferred built form outcome or where 'exceptional circumstances' warrant their introduction. Introduction of any mandatory requirements must be based on robust and comprehensive strategic work.
A DDO can only focus on built form and design aspects and cannot act as a heritage control. Within the Victorian Planning System it is the role of the Heritage Overlay to protect local heritage.
However, the content of a DDO is often informed by rigorous analysis and testing of a combination of urban design, heritage and traffic matters.
Many of Yarra’s DDOs also contain objectives and requirements to ensure new development responds sensitively towards heritage buildings and streetscape. A DDO can include overall building heights or setbacks for upper level parts of a proposed building above a heritage building which help to ensure that new development is separate from the below and/or adjoining heritage building.
Further information explaining what a DDO does can be found in our General DDO Information Sheet.
Not at the moment. Yarra currently has a number of interim DDO’s that are already in the planning scheme. These apply to live planning permit applications and any future planning permit applications, until the permanent DDOs are introduced into the Yarra Planning Scheme.
The other tools in the Planning Scheme will continue to apply. For example, if your property is also covered by a Heritage Overlay, these requirements would remain in place and also need to be taken into account when preparing a planning permit application
No. The proposed DDOs generally do not apply to public housing estates.
If you want to find out about the project and how it affects the North Richmond housing estates, read the Victoria Street Flyer.
Translations
Vietnamese
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Traditional Chinese
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Oromo.
For more information on projects that directly impact the public housing properties please check Homes Victoria.
The interim DDOs are temporary and have an expiry date. In Yarra, interim DDOs have been introduced to manage development in certain areas that are under high development pressure to provide higher levels of certainty. An interim DDO can follow a shorter amendment process and is usually used to fill a gap in the scheme relatively quickly.
Permanent DDOs are prepared and progressed through a longer planning scheme amendment process than an interim DDO, including public exhibition and public hearings by an independent panel or committee. A permanent DDO does not have an expiry date.
Based on a request by Yarra City Council, the Minister for Planning established the Yarra Activity Standing Advisory Committee to provide for a more efficient process amend Yarra’s planning scheme and introduce permanent DDOs. For more information regarding the draft amendment process under the Standing Advisory Committee please refer to the Yarra Activity Centres Standing Advisory Committee - Information Sheet [ PDF, 295.23 KB] .
To make any changes to a planning scheme a statutory process referred to as an “amendment” is required. This process is set out in the Planning and Environment Act 1987 (the Act).
An amendment to the planning scheme can be proposed by a Council, the Minister for Planning or a private individual.
Under the Terms of Reference for the Yarra Activity Centre Standing Advisory Committee the amendment is called a Draft Amendment as it will be considered by a Standing Advisory Committee (a different process under the Planning and Environment Act).
For more information regarding the draft amendment process, please refer to the Yarra Activity Centres Standing Advisory Committee - Information Sheet [ PDF, 295.23 KB] .
Advisory Committees are appointed by the Minister for Planning under the Planning and Environment Act 1987 to advise on any matter which the Minister refers to it. The Terms of Reference (ToR) for the Yarra Activity Centre Standing Advisory Committee (the Committee) was signed by the Minister for Planning (the Minister) on 10 June 2021. The main role of the Committee is to:
- Provide timely advice to the Minister and Yarra City Council on referred planning matters and associated draft Yarra Planning Scheme provisions for Yarra’s strip shopping centres (activity centres) and other areas of urban change.
- Provide an opportunity for submitters to be heard if requested by any submitter, including Yarra City Council.
Advisory Committees are guided by a document called a “Terms of Reference” which outlines the scope of the Advisory Committee and the process it should generally follow. The Yarra Activity Centres Standing Advisory Committee Terms of Reference can be viewed on Council's website.
Further information regarding the Standing Advisory Committee can be found in our Yarra Activity Centres Standing Advisory Committee - Information Sheet [ PDF, 295.23 KB]
Yes, the draft amendment is currently on exhibition. You can have a look at the draft amendment documentation, free of charge at:
- on this page under Referred Documents
- during office hours, at the office of the planning authority, City of Yarra at:
- Planning Counter, Richmond Town Hall, 333 Bridge Road, Richmond VIC 3121
- Collingwood Town Hall, 140 Hoddle Street, Abbotsford VIC 3067
- Fitzroy Library, 128 Moor Street, Fitzroy VIC 3065 (only for amendments associated to Fitzroy and Collingwood area
Yes, you are only given the opportunity to speak and participate in the Committee hearing if you make a written submission.
Yes, you can make a submission as part of a Residents Group/Organisations.
The Committee will consider all submissions received, whether by individuals or groups. Organisations, residents, or groups of individual submitters with similar issues are encouraged to provide a single 'group' submission. This approach streamlines the submission and Hearing process. Correspondence for organisations and residents’ groups will be directed to the nominated contact person for that group.
Yes. All submissions received in respect of the draft Amendment at the Standing Advisory Committee Hearing will be treated as public documents.
Please note that Council will not publish personal information about an individual that can make them identifiable without the individual’s consent. Once we have received all the submissions every submitter will be given a number and this number will be referenced in all public documents.
If a submission requires changes to any specific properties, the property address will be published without consent. This is required to understand the matter being considered.
Even though personal information will not be published it is important to note that submissions with no contact details are not accepted. These details are needed by Council and the Committee to ensure the submissions are genuine and to contact submitters throughout the process.