Merrimu Precinct Structure Plan
The Victorian Planning Authority (VPA) is working with Moorabool Shire Council to prepare a Precinct Structure Plan (PSP) and Development Contributions Plan (DCP). The precinct will deliver housing, community and education facilities, a retail centre with local employment opportunities, along with a series of local parks, roads and a drainage network to support the future community.
Site context
The precinct is located northeast of Bacchus Marsh town centre approximately 46 km north-west of Melbourne and covers an area of approximately 1,016 hectares.
Lying on an elevated plateau, the area has a strong visual landscape with rolling hills and views that extend down to Bacchus Marsh. The plateau is relatively flat with extreme steepness around the escarpment where development is highly constrained. The escarpment area holds potential Aboriginal Cultural Heritage and biodiversity values and are impacted by sodic soil and erosion constraints.
The precinct currently comprises of agricultural land uses (with south and south-east boundaries of the PSP partly located within the Bacchus Marsh Irrigation District), nature reserves and established rural residential development. Long Forest Reserve defines Merrimu PSP’s eastern boundary and is a strong feature of the landscape in the area. To the western boundary are a range of operational and non-operational sand quarries.
The PSP area has been identified by the Department of Transport and Planning (DTP) to be transversed by the proposed Bacchus Marsh Eastern Link Road which is a future major arterial road development. Option B, which runs between Bences and Gisborne Road, has been selected as the preferred alignment. At the northern boundary, the Western Renewables Link is proposed to run through the precinct, which will carry renewable energy from Bulgana to Sydenham.
Map of the Merrimu Precinct Structure Plan
Disclaimer
The developable area and place-based plan within the draft reports features details that are assumptions only for the purposes of background reporting. They do not represent VPA support for the developable area or place-based plan and are subject to change based on the outcomes of the draft studies and PSP process.
Background information
The Victorian Planning Authority (VPA) is a State Government statutory authority within the Department of Transport and Planning that reports to the Minister for Planning.
The VPA’s main task is to make sure Melbourne and Victoria’s regions remain great places to live and work. This requires vision and long-term planning to ensure our growing population has equitable access to employment, public transport, attractive public spaces and affordable housing.
Our key priorities include unlocking land for new homes and communities, facilitating housing diversity and affordability, job creation and better development of new communities in growing and established areas.
We do this by working closely with councils, government agencies and the planning and development community on integrated land use and infrastructure coordination for new communities and strategically important precincts.
The Minister for Planning has appointed the Victorian Planning Authority (VPA) to lead this project from conception to finalisation. Throughout the project, we will work closely with Moorabool Shire Council, State Government agencies and local community members to ensure the plan considers and reflects their input.
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.
The Bacchus Marsh Urban Growth Framework (UGF) identifies new areas for jobs, housing and infrastructure, while protecting valuable cultural and environmental assets. With Bacchus Marsh’s population anticipated to more than double to 50,000 residents by 2041, this plan will ensure growth is logical, sequenced and holistic. The framework was approved by the Minister for Planning in November 2018.
The framework identifies Parwan and Merrimu as key growth areas. The precinct structure plan (PSP) process will deliver more specific land-use planning for these areas to develop.
A Development Contributions Plan (DCP) identifies the costs of some essential infrastructure required to support a PSP such as the costs of 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 a suite of background studies undertaken on the project. The DCP becomes a public document to be publicly exhibited along with the PSP.
To implement the PSP and DCP, a planning scheme amendment to the Moorabool Shire Council Planning Scheme must first occur.
A planning scheme governs the way land can be used and developed within the bounds of the Victorian Planning System.
A planning scheme amendment is updated from time to time to change the way land can be used or developed or to improve a particular scheme.
Project information
Once approved, development within the precinct will gradually occur over the next few decades.
Council is the responsible authority for the PSP and will be responsible for the planning application process that will deliver outcomes as outlined in the PSP and DCP.
Developers are responsible for preparing and lodging planning applications that must be generally in accordance with outcomes of the PSP and DCP.
The Bacchus Marsh Urban Growth Framework identified an Eastern Link Road for Bacchus Marsh as a key project to address existing network and congestion issues, as well as to support the development of new growth areas.
Regional Roads Victoria (RRV) have nominated Option B Alternative, as the preferred alignment for the Bacchus Marsh Eastern Link Road. The Victorian Planning Authority (VPA) will continue collaborating with RRV to ensure that the Eastern Link Road effectively integrates and supports the development of the precinct.
For more information on the Bacchus Marsh Eastern Link Road, refer to Regional Roads Victoria.
General information about the Victorian Grassland Earless Dragon (VGED) can be found at the Zoos Victoria website.
Additionally, for specific inquiries and details potential VGED populations and surveys, the Victorian Planning Authority (VPA) is collaborating with the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA).
You can contact DEECA for further information via:
- Email – customer.service@delwp.vic.gov.au
- Telephone – 136 186
Bacchus Marsh has been identified for growth through a range of state, regional, and local policy. These include but are not limited to the Central Highlands Regional Growth Plan, Plan Melbourne 2017-2050, Housing Bacchus Marsh to 2041 and Bacchus Marsh Urban Growth Framework.
To accommodate this growth, the project will assist in providing additional housing and supporting infrastructure for the community and region.
Landowners with sites containing habitat (as identified by the DEECA habitat distribution model) which may support the Victorian Grassland Earless Dragon (VGED), have been notified by VPA in December 2024.
To read more about the habitat distribution model, head to: Victorian Grassland Earless Dragon habitat distribution model.
Next steps
Surveys will be conducted for potential Victorian Grassland Earless Dragon (VGED) populations in the precinct.
While waiting for the results of those surveys, the Victorian Planning Authority (VPA) will continue to resolve technical reports that are underway and not dependent upon the survey results. Once completed, these reports will be published on our website.
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