FAQs
What is ‘place planning’?
Place Planning involves the creation of ‘place plans’ which set the vision for the future of a place. This involves Council working with community members to create a shared strategic plan to guide decision making for future change.
What is ‘place making’?
Place Making is often described as a way to inspire people to creatively reimagine and improve their neighbourhood or region. It seeks to strengthen the connection between people and the places in which they live, and create quality public spaces that support health and wellbeing.
How does planning work?
Visit the Development section of Council's website for information about planning for future developments in Maroondah.
Why is neighbourhood planning important?
Neighbourhood planning allows communities and Council to work together to create great places to live, work, play and visit. Planning for liveable neighbourhoods requires community input to identify what is important to the community, so that Council can prioritise investment at a local scale.
How is the project funded?
The Liveable Neighbourhoods Project is funded by the Victorian Planning Authority (VPA) through their Streamlining for Growth (SfG) Fund 2022/23. The purpose of the SfG Program is to improve strategic planning processes and infrastructure coordination.
Is this part of the Victorian Government’s Activity Centres Program?
No, the Activity Centres Program is a Victorian Government initiative which encourages housing development along Melbourne’s major railway lines to accommodate a high demand for housing. The State Government has selected Ringwood as one of the first 25 activity centres announced for the pilot program, however, this does not encompass the neighbourhoods outside of Ringwood. On the contrary, Liveable Neighbourhoods project is a local government initiative which seeks to prioritise community aspirations in the planning and development of their neighbourhoods. This intends to ensure future land use changes complement community visions.
Is Council creating 20 minute neighbourhoods?
The concept of a 20-minute neighbourhood is all about ‘living locally’ and enabling communities to meet most of their needs within a walkable distance. This cannot be achieved without community input, to ensure that places are designed to meet community needs and aspirations. Council will draw upon the hallmarks of a 20-minute neighbourhood in planning strategy, so long as it aligns with the community vision and local context. This is why Council is giving local residents the opportunity to have their say through the Place Planning for Liveable Neighbourhoods project.
The hallmarks of a 20-minute neighbourhood:
There have been concerns raised by community members that governments are trying to restrict people’s movement by creating ‘smart cities’. Council will not be restricting movement and will never collect identifying data that records the movement of its individual residents.
What are the intended outcomes of the Place Planning for Liveable Neighbourhoods project?
The outcomes are intended to provide guidance in the planning of Maroondah’s local centres, with resulting reports intended to inform similar processes and activities for liveable neighbourhoods across the network.
Community feedback will be used to develop a Place Opportunities Report for each neighbourhood area. These will establish a vision to guide priorities for future investment. Community input will influence priorities for public realm improvements, design guidelines and placemaking.
Project updates and outcomes will be made publicly available on the Council website.
When will the community feedback be implemented?
The implementation of the identified community priorities depends on available budget and timelines. Council will work with relevant community stakeholders to ensure community priorities are heard.
What is the walkable area?
The walkable area includes the 800-metre distances from the neighbourhood centre along existing roads, footpaths and shared paths rather than ‘as the crow flies’. This method provides a more accurate representation of the centre’s walkable catchment by relying on the permeable pedestrian network surrounding the centre.