What is an Activity Centre?
Activity centres are where people shop, work, meet, relax and often live.
They are usually well served by public transport and can range in size from local neighbourhood shopping streets to universities and major regional shopping malls.
Activity centres will be the focus of major change over the next 30 years, as part of Melbourne 2030 - which is the State Government’s planning policy to create more sustainable, vibrant communities.
Melbourne 2030 creates a hierarchy of Activity Centres including:
- Central Activity Districts (CADs) - None exist in Moonee Valley.
- Principal Activity Centres (PACs) - Moonee Ponds and Airport West.
- Major Activity Centre (MACs) - North Essendon; Keilor Road, Niddrie; Racecourse Road, Flemington; and Union Road, Ascot Vale.
- Neighbourhood Activity Centre (NACs) - none specified in Melbourne 2030, however, will include areas such as around Essendon Train Station, and some of the smaller activity centres.
What is a Structure Plan?
A Structure Plan maps out a long-term direction of how our activity centres should grow and develop. They are used in assessing planning permit applications for new developments, as well as improvements to roads, footpaths, community facilities, and open space. Structure Plans guide the development of policies and changes to the Moonee Valley Planning Scheme.
A structure plan generally has information on transport, land use, built form, and the environment - as well as details on how we will implement any changes.
Activity Centres in Moonee Valley
Moonee Ponds Activity Centre (MPAC)
The Moonee Ponds Activity Centre Structure Plan (pdf, 21.94MB) was adopted in March 2010. We are currently preparing an amendment to the planning scheme to incorporate the key strategies and requirements of the Structure Plan into the Moonee Valley Planning Scheme. Community consultation on the proposed amendment occurred in late 2011, and a number of submissions were received. The submissions have been referred to an independent panel for review, which will take place in February-March 2012.
Airport West
The Airport West Activity Centre Structure Plan (pdf, 1.43MB) was adopted in June 2008. This structure plan was implemented through the Moonee Valley Planning Scheme as part of Amendment C107. This amendment was approved by the Minister for Planning on 9 January 2012.
Keilor Road & North Essendon
The Keilor Road Activity Centre Structure Plan and North Essendon Activity Centre Structure Plan were adopted by Council in December 2011. Council will look at implementing these structure plans through the Planning Scheme and further consultation will be held in the second half of 2012.
Union Road, Ascot Vale
A draft structure plan is currently being developed for the Union Road Activity Centre. This is expected to be released for feedback and public comment in early 2012.
Racecourse Road, Flemington
A draft structure plan is currently being developed for the Racecourse Road Activity Centre. This is expected to be released for feedback and public comment in early 2012.
Essendon Station and surrounds
We are currently undertaking a structure plan for the Essendon Station Activity Centre.
The structure plan will map out a long term vision for how Essendon Station and the surrounding area should grow and develop over the next 20 years. It will provide information on transport, land use, buildings and the environment - as well as details on how we will implement any changes.
We are seeking nominations from interested community members to be part of a working group to oversee the development of the structure plan. The purpose of the group is outlined in the terms of reference (PDF, 36KB) and will be to:
- Provide local, community input to guide the development of the structure plan.
- Provide feedback about proposals/recommendations at key stages in the structure planning process (approximate project duration 8 - 10 months)
To be eligible to participate in the working group you will need to be a current resident, business operator, worker or ratepayer within the study area. The study area map (PDF, 975kb) shows the areas that will be investigated as part of the structure plan process. It is important to note that the boundary shown on this map represents a starting point for future investigation and research. It is not the proposed activity centre boundary. This will be established in consultation with the community as we move through the structure planning process.
If you are interested in participating in the working group please complete a nomination form (PDF, 26KB) and return to us no later than Monday 26 March, 2012. For further information please contact our Strategic Planning Department on 9243 1041.
Smaller Activity Centres (Neighbourhood and Local Centres)
Neighbourhood and local activity centres are not expected to experience as much growth as the larger activity centres described above. It is still important to ensure that there are policies and strategies in place to guide development in all activity centres. So we will be working on preparing guidelines for the smaller centres over the coming years.