Paving way forward for Gisborne’s future

Published on 15 September 2020

Strong community feedback on draft plans is paving the way forward for Macedon Ranges Shire Council to refine its vision for better managing future growth in Gisborne. 

Seven weeks of community consultation for Phase 3 of the Gisborne Futures project closed on Monday. 

Three key reports were released together - a draft Structure Plan, draft Urban Design Framework and draft Neighbourhood Character Study – sharing a vision for sustainable growth for the township. 

Council’s Director Planning and Environment, Angela Hughes said recent consultation activities, including a series of 10 public webinars, had achieved the desired outcome of attracting broad participation from local residents of all ages. 

“We wanted to check if issues raised in previous consultations in recent years fairly reflect our community’s priorities for the future and if the balance is right in these draft plans,” Ms Hughes said. 

“Our objective is for Council to implement the necessary planning tools and strengthen design controls to protect Gisborne’s neighbourhood and landscape character values.  

“We thank local residents and community agencies for being so willing to get involved and share their views,” she said. “We are grateful people are making this effort and supporting Council in delivering on its town planning responsibilities.” 

Various promotional materials and methods were used to reach residents during COVID-19 restrictions, including summary booklets to local households, signage, videos, social media, webinars, and one-on-one meetings with planners to discuss individual concerns on property impacts. 

“Around 80 people joined our webinar series to raise their concerns and questions,” Ms Hughes said. 

More than 640 people responded to the online survey and at least 100 written submissions were received. 

“It’s been tremendous to have that high level of interest in planning for the future of Gisborne over the next 30 years.”

“The project team will review all recent submissions, survey results and other comments received before presenting a modified version of the draft plans to the community for a further round of consultation next year,” Ms Hughes said.  

For project enquiries, contact (03) 5422 0333 or email [email protected]