Swan Street Structure Plan

Swan Street

Council is seeking community feedback on a revised draft of the Swan Street Structure Plan.

About the revised Draft Swan Street Structure Plan
Meet the Planner information sessions
Have your say
Background
About the Draft Swan Street Structure Plan

About the revised Draft Swan Street Structure Plan

Public consultation on an earlier version of the draft plan took place during May and June 2011. However, at its September 2011 meeting Council deferred its decision to allow further work to be carried out.

The revised Draft Structure Plan incorporates several changes from the draft that was released for community feedback last September. In summary, these changes include:

A stronger focus on the eleven character precincts located within the study area to convey the contribution each precinct would make to the overall vision for Swan Street
A set of good urban design principals to guide outcomes for things like building setbacks, active street frontages and the interface with adjoining residential areas
Revised heights are proposed for some locations within the study area:
- Proposed maximum building heights of 7-10 storeys around Richmond Station, part of South Cremorne, and Burnley Station.
- Proposed maximum building heights of 5-6 storeys in the area south of Swan Street (excluding the Burnley Station precinct), the area to the north west of Swan and Burnley streets (extending north to Newry Street) and in the area north of Barkly Avenue.
A Built Form Rationale Plan that uses maps to illustrate why some areas which are located near public transport, services and facilities would be suitable for more dense redevelopment, and
Revised Built Form Guidelines that provide guidance on future built form and how that would be in keeping with the longer term vision for Swan Street and surrounds.

Here is a factsheet about the revised Draft Structure Plan:

pdf format Draft Swan Street Structure Plan factsheet (1.68 MB)

The closing date for community feedback on the revised Draft Structure Plan is Friday 8 June 2012.

Here is a pdf version of the revised Draft Structure Plan. The plan has been broken up into sections due to its large file size.

Meet the Planner sessions

You can find out more about the revised Draft Structure Plan from Council planning officers at information sessions at the Richmond Library (415 Church Street, Richmond) on Wednesday 16 May from 2pm – 7 pm and Wednesday 30 May from 2pm – 7pm.

Have your say

You are invited to comment on the revised Draft Swan Street Structure Plan. You may wish to consider the following questions when providing your feedback, in addition to any other comments you would like to make:

How can the Vision on page two of the Draft Structure Plan reflect your own preferred future vision for the area?
How can the plan adequately protect local heritage and neighbourhood character?
How can the plan adequately address environmental sustainability?
Does the plan now adequately clarify what heights and setbacks are proposed for the precincts/sites you are most interested in/concerned about? (see pp27-28 and pp39-42 of the Draft Structure Plan)
Should higher buildings go along the Yarra River Corridor to take advantage of amenity and views? (see p28 and p36 of the Draft Structure Plan)

Feedback should be sent to Janet Keily, Senior Strategic Planner, in writing to Strategic Planning c/o Yarra City Council, PO Box 168, Richmond, 3121 or by email to strategicplanning@yarracity.vic.gov.au by Friday 8 June 2012.

Background

Public consultation on an earlier version of the draft plan took place during May and June 2011. Following community consultation, Council officers recommended that several changes be made to the draft plan before it was adopted. These changes would have increased the preferred heights of new buildings in the area from what was in the draft plan. Here is a report by Council officers (31.94kB) and the Proposed changes to the draft Swan Street Structure Plan.pdf (25.32kB).

Several residents expressed opposition to the proposed changes in preferred building heights. At its September 2011 meeting, Council resolved to defer adopting a plan "pending further discussions about community consultation, options for achieving strategic rationales for appropriate heights, and clarification around housing targets from the Department of Community Planning and Development".

Here is a link to the Council Report on the revised Structure Plan.

About the Swan Street Structure Plan

Structure Plans set out a vision for potential future development in specific areas and focus on four key themes:

Land Use – how Council should manage change to activities such as shopping, industry and housing
Built Form – how new developments should be designed and what the centre should look like in 10-20 years
Public Realm – improvements and changes to public areas, including the streets, parks and civic spaces
Access & Movement – improvements to pedestrian, bicycle and public transport access and vehicle traffic.

The study area for the Swan Street Structure Plan extends from Loyola Grove to the east, the top of Church Street hill to the north (St Ignatius Church), Punt Road to the west, the Yarra River to the south.

A map of the study area is available here: pdf format Swan Street Structure Plan Study Area Map (697.08 KB)

Council sought community feedback on an Issues Paper about the proposed Structure Plan in October 2010. Council received several submissions from the community which were used to assist Council officers in preparing a draft Structure Plan. The Issues Paper can be viewed in full here:

pdf format Swan Street Structure Plan - Issues Paper (1.21MB)

Further information
Janet Keily
Senior Strategic Planner
9205 5027
janet.keily@yarracity.vic.gov.au