Toolamba Growth Plan 2020

Greater Shepparton City Council adopted the Toolamba Growth Plan 2020 at the Ordinary Council Meeting held on Tuesday, 21 July 2020.

Background

In February 2019, Council appointed Ethos Urban Pty Ltd to prepare the Draft Toolamba Growth Plan to guide future residential development in the area over the next thirty years.

Although experiencing gradual rates of population increase in the past, Toolamba’s future growth patterns could be significantly altered in coming years, due to a combination of landowners wishing to rezone and subdivide substantial tracts of land to the west of the existing township, and the proposed construction of the Goulburn Valley Highway Shepparton Bypass, which will include an interchange adjacent to the town.

Although timeframes for these developments are unknown, Council wishes to ensure that residential development over the next three decades is managed to retain the integral character and natural amenity of the area, and ensure that the necessary infrastructure is delivered in a timely manner.

Pre-draft consultation was conducted in May 2019, encompassing a workshop with key referral agencies, meetings with individual landowners, and a public drop-in session in the local Community Hall. The Draft Toolamba Growth Plan 2019 was released for public exhibition between December and March 2020, with another public drop-in session held in February 2020. A broad array of comments and feedback were received throughout the process, which are summarised in the Conversation Reports that can be downloaded below. All of the input was considered in formulating the final Growth Plan.

In addition, Council appointed Mesh Liveable Urban Communities Pty Ltd in March 2020 to prepare the Toolamba Housing and Streetscape Typologies 2020. The Typologies examine key features that contribute to the spacious and leafy rural character of Toolamba and propose guidelines for future development to ensure that the township’s unique identity is retained as it evolves into the future.

Download the documents

Next steps

Council officers have prepared a Planning Scheme Amendment to incorporate the Toolamba Growth Plan 2020 and the Toolamba Housing and Streetscape Typologies 2020 into the Greater Shepparton Planning Scheme.

Amendment C224 proposes to implement both documents as Reference Documents, and to apply a Design and Development Overlay to the area designated for short term residential development, being 19 Londregan Lane, Toolamba and part of 335 Rutherford Road, Toolamba (lots 4 and 5 on TP825016).

Amendment C224 is being exhibited concurrently with Amendment C168, which proposes to rezone land at 19 Londregan Lane, Toolamba and part of 335 Rutherford Road, Toolamba (lots 4 and 5 on TP825016) from the Farming Zone – Schedule 1 to the Urban Growth Zone – Schedule 3, and to implement the Toolamba Precinct Structure Plan, September 2018 into the Greater Shepparton Planning Scheme as an Incorporated Document.

For more information, please contact Council’s Building, Planning and Compliance Department on (03) 5832 9700.