Community thoughts, ideas and aspirations are being sought to help guide development of a new strategic town planning document for Drouin.
Once developed, the Drouin Township Plan 2020-2036 will enable the Drouin community to drive their vision for the town and look at developing a strategic approach to projects and initiatives over the ensuing years. The plan will feed into future policy and strategy development and help inform long-term planning and budgeting for projects in and around the Drouin township.
The plan will supersede the existing Drouin Town Centre Strategy 2010.
The primary focus of the plan will address the commercial town centre of Drouin, however the plan will also consider broader residential and industrial areas, connections and development opportunities throughout the township and into new growth areas.
The plan will seek to identify issues and opportunities for the town in relation to:
- Population growth and responding to the increase town centre pressures.
- Connectivity improvement between the town centre and secondary and tertiary areas (outlined in the map below).
- Redevelopment opportunities of underutilised and vacant industrial land.
- Retail, office and commercial space opportunities.
- Traffic, transport and parking provision.
- Improvement of underutilised parks and open spaces.
- Public realm improvements.
- Address interface issues with the new residential areas.
- Future development opportunities and constraints.
Independent and expert town planning consultancy Tract has been engaged to guide consultation, planning and delivery of the new town plan.
Development of the plan will take place over a number of stages between now and June 2020 with input being sought from residents, local businesses, state and statutory agencies, community associations and visitors.
This initial early consultation opportunity aims to capture community thoughts, ideas, aspirations and concerns to help shape the content in a draft plan.
Have your say
As part of the initial consultation, Council officers and representatives from Tract will have a stall at the upcoming Drouin Craft and Produce Market on Saturday 19 October 2019. Community members interested in providing their thoughts or wanting to ask questions are encouraged to attend.
For those unable to attend the market, a short survey has been prepared to capture community views and thoughts. The survey can be accessed online from Council's website or in hard copy at Council's Customer Service Centres.
The survey will be available for four weeks with submissions closing on Wednesday 6 November 2019.
All information gathered from the market, online and print survey will be collated and considered in the development of a draft plan which will be presented again for community feedback around March-April 2020.
This project is a key initiative of the of the Council Plan 2017-2021.
For full project details or to complete the survey, please go to Drouin Township Plan 2020-2036.
Note: This plan will differ from the existing Drouin Precinct Structure Plan which guides residential growth and development of the broader town. Once developed, the Drouin Township Plan will primarily address the centre of the Drouin township.
As noted by Mayor Cr Mikaela Power
"Over the next six months, we want to work alongside the community to develop a town plan for the centre of Drouin that reflects the current needs and aspirations of local residents. We hope to see lots of robust discussion at the market stall and in the following weeks through the survey."
As noted by West Ward Cr Keith Cook
"We highly encourage Drouin residents to come along to the market stall or fill in the simple survey. We want to make sure we have a broad range of community feedback captured to help shape the draft plan."
As noted by West Ward Cr Tricia Jones
"The early consultation questions aim to provide a snapshot of how we see the centre of Drouin now, and how we want to see it in the future. Once complete, this plan will be an important guide for future projects in and around the Drouin town centre."
As noted by West Ward Cr Jessica O'Donnell
"During this early consultation we're asking the Drouin community what they love about Drouin, what they're concerned about and what they would like to more of in the future. We'd love to hear from as many residents as possible to ensure the plan reflects the community's views."
Image: Areas of the Drouin township that will be addressed in the development of the plan.
Image: Princes Way through the Drouin town centre.
