At its monthly meeting this week, Hepburn Shire Council adopted the Future Hepburn Settlement Strategy and Implementation Plan, advancing its long-term approach to strategic land use planning.
The implementation plan follows Council’s initial endorsement of the Future Hepburn framework in September 2024, which included the adoption of a Rural Strategy and Town Structure Plans for Clunes, Creswick, Daylesford/Hepburn Springs, Glenlyon, and Trentham. These documents were developed through a combination of technical analysis and community engagement, including input from township-based community panels.
The implementation plan outlines the process for incorporating the strategy’s recommendations into the Hepburn Planning Scheme. This includes further community consultation, formal Council decisions, review by an independent planning panel, and consideration by the Minister for Planning.
Council will prioritise implementation activities based on factors such as financial sustainability, alignment with ongoing strategic projects, anticipated community benefits, and risk management. This staged approach is intended to ensure that planning protections for rural areas, the natural environment, and township character are delivered effectively and within current Council timelines.
Further community engagement will occur for structure plan changes that differed significantly from the draft documents released for consultation in June 2024. These consultations will take place prior to Council initiating planning scheme amendments in the affected areas.
Future Hepburn is part of Council’s broader strategic planning program. Other initiatives currently underway include development of an Integrated Transport Strategy, planning responses to major State Government infrastructure projects (such as VNI West and the Nyaninyuk windfarm), opposition to the Western Renewables Link, and implementation of the Biodiversity Strategy and Sustainable Hepburn.
Council has allocated more than $1 million in its draft Council Plan and Budget to support the delivery of Future Hepburn.
The full implementation plan is available at the Future Hepburn webpage.
This article is based on a media release from Hepburn Shire Council.
