East of Aberline
The Victorian Planning Authority (VPA), in partnership with Warrnambool City Council and government agencies, is re-commencing the preparation of the East of Aberline Precinct Structure Plan (PSP) and Development Contributions Plan (DCP).
As background, the VPA commenced the East of Aberline project in 2019, prior to which Council had undertaken some work. However in 2020 as part of the Government’s response to COVID-19, the Treasurer and Minister for Planning required the VPA to accelerate 19 projects on our existing work program. East of Aberline amongst other projects were paused to refocus priority.
The East of Aberline precinct is expected to provide approximately 5,000 homes to accommodate a population of more than 15,000 people. It will also provide community facilities, local parks and potentially new schools. The VPA will work collaboratively with council to ensure the PSP considers the local community as well as the environment. A key focus of this precinct is to facilitate environmentally sensitive outcomes fit for the existing and future Warrnambool community and its resilience.
Looking west across Russell Creek towards Aberline Road
Landowners – Register Your Information
As part of the PSP process, the VPA is required to undertake technical work on matters such as biodiversity, heritage (Aboriginal and European), arboricultural, land capability and others. Access to your site will be critical to undertaking this work and enable creation of an informed PSP.
If you are a landowners in the Precinct we request permission to grant access to your property, and would appreciate if you can please fill out the attached form and return it via email to the project team.
For more information, refer to Consent to Access Land for Land Assessments form (Word)
The VPA or its representatives will always seek to notify you of any intention to enter your property to support planning investigations.
Background information
The Victorian Planning Authority (VPA) are a State government authority. The VPA are responsible for planning in new suburbs and renewal sites in parts of metropolitan Melbourne and regional Victoria. The VPA reports to the Minister for Planning.
The VPA works closely with councils, government agencies and the planning and development community on integrated land use and infrastructure coordination for important development sites and precincts.
Our major tasks include unlocking land for new homes and communities, facilitating housing diversity and affordability, job creation and better development of new communities in new and established areas.
A Precinct Structure Plan (PSP) is a land use and infrastructure plan to guide the development of an area over time. It provides certainty for community members and developers by providing a long-term vision for how an area will develop in the future.
A PSP sets out the preferred locations of residential and employment land and infrastructure, and provides guidance for transport and parking, urban design, heritage and character, open spaces and integrated water management.
Together with the broader planning framework, precinct structure planning is an important part of the Victorian Government’s strategy to address population growth, housing and employment demands.
A Development Contributions Plan (DCP) identifies the costs of some essential infrastructure required to support a PSP such as the costs of signalised intersections, drainage corridors, retarding basins, and others. It will also set out a levy required for new development on a ‘per hectare of net developable area’ basis.
The DCP is required since broad scale new development often contribute to or cause the need for new or upgraded infrastructure. It ensures that existing infrastructure is not over-burdened by new development.
The DCP will be prepared concurrently with the PSP. All infrastructure items included must be strategically justified through the suite of background studies undertaken on the project. The DCP becomes a public document to be publicly exhibited along with the PSP.
Project information
The Precinct Structure Plan (PSP) guides development of an area over time, however, it does not compel a landowner to develop their land if they wish to remain undeveloped.
The precinct boundary has been informed by the Warrnambool Planning Scheme and in particular the Warrnambool Strategic Framework Plan at Clause 02.04 in addition to consultation with state agencies, Warrnambool City Council and technical consultants.
PSP boundaries are established to create logical and manageable ‘planning areas’ for the preparation of Precinct Structure Plans and associated Development Contributions Plans.
Third party funding is the method adopted by the VPA to fund the preparation of a Precinct Structure Plan (PSP) and Development Contributions Plan (DCP). Funding will facilitate the preparation or updates to technical work, stakeholder consultation, and associated work to prepare a planning scheme amendment to incorporate the PSP and DCP into the Planning Scheme.
Third Party Funding Agreements are a contract between the VPA and a ‘third party’ (typically the landowner) to formalise funding arrangements. Typically, costs to fund a PSP is undertaken on a per hectare basis (i.e. the larger your landholding the more it will cost). The Agreements provide for staged payments over the course of the PSP process.
Third party funding is voluntary.
Normally, third party funding costs are estimated by undertaking the following steps:
- Project is scoped to determine complexity and range of issues that will need to be addressed by the PSP (including required technical studies).
- The VPA calculates the total estimated cost of the project, with estimates based on previous (most recent) actuals with allowances for variances based on inflation and the relative complexity of the project.
- The estimated total cost of project is divided by the area of the precinct to deliver a per hectare funding rate.
- The VPA then seeks Expressions of Interest from all landowners within the precinct to enter into Third Party Funding Agreements with requested amounts based on the calculated per landowner funding amount.
- Following receipt of Expressions of Interest from landowners the VPA will recalculate each landowner’s draft obligation and provide this back to participating landowners to confirm their continued interest.
The Victorian Planning Authority (VPA) is partnering with Warrnambool City Council to prepare strategic planning outputs.
Once a project is completed, the Responsible Authority for implementing it over many years (e.g. approving subdivision applications) will usually be the local council. To assist in facilitating this, the VPA ensures regular engagement with council throughout the whole life of the project.
How can I get involved?
The best way to stay involved in the plan development process is to register your interest in the project on the project website. If you would like to learn more, feel free to contact members of the project team.
Project Status Updates – November 2024
VPA Business Plan 2024-25
The Minister for Planning has approved the VPA Business Plan 2024-25, outlining our work program and priorities for this financial year.
The East of Aberline Precinct Structure Plan (PSP) and Development Contributions Plan (DCP) is on the VPA work program for 2024-25. This is a strong commitment from the Government for the VPA to get on with our planning for East of Aberline and to streamline and fast track the delivery of our plans where possible.
Update on our planning for the East of Aberline PSP and DCP
We have been progressing the planning for the East of Aberline PSP and DCP by meeting with landowners and agency stakeholders to resolve outstanding matters, progressing key technical work, and preparing a draft precinct structure plan.
Since our last update in July 2024, we have:
- Completed the co-design workshop for the precinct on the 10th of July 2024 at the Lighthouse Theatre, Warrnambool. At this workshop, landowners and agency stakeholders collaborated to develop planning solutions while considering the technical findings and range of objectives for the PSP.
- Worked with stakeholders to resolve outstanding issues and utilised insights from the workshop and subsequent meetings to support further testing and design.
- Prepared a draft PSP and DCP for Agency Validation.
- Commissioned additional technical expert consultants to conduct targeted surveys for potential protected fauna species within the precinct while also developing an integrated transport assessment.
- Commenced the procurement of technical experts to prepare a flooding and drainage strategy and to develop infrastructure designs and costings that will inform the final Precinct Structure Plan (PSP) and Development Contributions Plan (DCP).
We are also continuing to manage the preparation of technical assessments, including:
- Adverse amenity impact
- Arboriculture
- Biodiversity
- Bushfire
- Community infrastructure
- Cultural and post-contact heritage
- Economic and retail
- Land capability
- Landscape and visual impact
- Social and affordable housing
- Transport infrastructure costings and designs
- Utility servicing
Once these reports are finalised, they will be published on our website.
In the coming months, we will be focused on publishing a summary document of the co-design workshop while reviewing and responding to agency comments on the draft PSP. We will also work with our consultants to complete outstanding technical work and refine the draft PSP in preparation for public consultation in mid-2025.
Previous Project Status Updates
- Project Status Updates – July 2024
- Project Status Updates – May 2024
- Project Status Updates – March 2024
- Project Status Updates – November 2023
- Project Status Updates – July 2023
- Project Status Updates – May 2023
- Project Status Updates – March 2023
- Project Status Updates – October 2022
- East of Aberline PSP – Landowner Update – November 2019
- East of Aberline PSP – Landowner Update – April 2019