MORELAND PLANNING SCHEME
21.04
MORELAND’S VISION
14/07/2011
C112(Part 1)
Moreland City Council seeks to create an environmentally sustainable and liveable city,
where people can shop, work and socialise locally. A city where a car and a high income
are not necessary for a rich and rewarding quality of life. A city which will continue to
provide a range of opportunities and choices for a diverse and prosperous community.
21.04-1
ACHIEVING THE VISION
21/09/2006
Proposed
C123
To achieve Council’s vision, address challenges and realise opportunities, a number of key
focus areas and policy directions have been identified. These are shown on Map 3 Strategic
Framework Plan, in the context of the wider plan for the city.
The City envisaged by Council has a mix of housing, old and newer, to suit it’s ageing
population and shrinking households. Its industries provide jobs for its traditional
workforce and also offer residents wider opportunities.
The City’s fabric is woven more tightly around the Coburg Principal Activity Centre,
Brunswick and Glenroy Major Activity Centres and a number of small local shopping
areas, each becoming the focus for its immediate hinterland. These activity centres and
urban villages are linked by public transport and provide neighbourhood-level services.
Traffic flows on Moreland streets are controlled. Public transport and bicycle paths are
visible and easy-to-access features across the municipality.
Streets are inviting places to walk along, shady and neighbourly. A number of local
destinations or meeting places can be walk or cycle to, be they parks, Cafes, clubs or the
local urban village. Parks are designed with safety issues in mind and to encourage visitors
to linger.
The activity centres/urban villages proposed in the Moreland City Plan aim to embody this
vision.
21.04-2
FOCUS AREAS FOR CHANGE
13/02/2014
Proposed C123
Activity centres / urban villages
Melbourne 2030’s policies, including the hierarchy of activity centres, are closely aligned
with the urban village concept. Melbourne 2030 identifies a number of Moreland’s urban
villages as being within the metropolitan hierarchy of activity centres. Coburg has been
identified as a Principal Activity Centre (PAC) while Brunswick and Glenroy are
nominated as Major Activity Centres (MAC). To ensure consistency Moreland has adopted
the activity centre terms used by Melbourne 2030 and will undertake further strategic
analysis to determine the future of Moreland’s other designated urban villages.
Coburg Principal Activity Centre
A vision to guide the development of central Coburg has been developed with the
community and stakeholders through the Colours of Coburg Place Framework and
Strategies and the Central Coburg 2020 Structure Plan.
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The vision for the Coburg Principal Activity Centre is:
Central Coburg develops as the prime shopping, living, employment
and activity centre in Moreland. The Centre is transformed into an
attractive system of safe streets and spaces. Central Coburg becomes a
sought after living environment, offering a range of housing choices,
including high density housing. Most people arrive at the centre on foot,
by bike, or by public transport. The provision of a range of services
enables people to conduct a number of different activities based on the
one trip. Central Coburg is linked with networks of green spaces.
The Pentridge redevelopment provides an exciting component of the activity centre.
Council will continue to work with the developers of the site to create a successful,
integrated and seamless activity centre for Moreland.
The Coburg Principal Activity Centre will enable the strengthening of leisure, community,
entertainment and civic functions for all Moreland citizens.
Figure 1: Coburg Principal Activity Centre boundary
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Major activity centres
Further strategic work is required define the boundaries and roles of the Brunswick and
Glenroy Major Activity Centres.
Urban villages
Council’s vision, to create an environmentally sustainable and liveable city, where people
can shop, work and socialise locally, is captured in the concept of urban villages. The name
‘urban village’ has been given to local urban activity centres based around good public
transport links, which have a mix of residential development, employment and open space.
Urban villages can provide a range of local services and encourage a lively and active
community.
The designated urban villages are:
 Merlynston Station
 Anstey Station
 Brunswick Station
 Jewel Station
 Nicholson Street/Brunswick Road
 Grantham St/Union St
 Lygon St/Albion St
 Pascoe Vale Station
 Hadfield (West Street)
 Cumberland Road/Gaffney St
 Lygon St/Albert St
 Nicholson/Blyth St
 Melville Rd/Victoria St
 Holmes St/Moreland Road
 Moreland Road/Melville Road
 Nicholson Street/Glenlyon Road
Map 3 Strategic Framework Plan shows the location of Moreland’s activity centres and
urban villages.
Upfield corridor
The Upfield corridor includes a series of nodes of activity. The pattern of mixed use and
business zones reflects this with a conscious encouragement of a greater mix of activities
and higher density housing at urban village locations.
The industrial and commercial strip of land along the Upfield railway line has declined in
manufacturing importance. Council is keen to support increased service and improved
facilities along the line. Based on its proximity to the CBD and Sydney Road, this area is
considered suitable for revitalising as an industrial and employment centre. The recent
Moreland Industrial Land Use Strategy confirmed the industrial role of land in the area. Its
future role as an employment generating core for the municipality will be explored as part
of future planning for Brunswick.
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As part of the Upfield revitalisation program, Council is applying a range of zones to
enable a broader range of activities and investments in strategic locations such as urban
villages and the Brunswick Arts Precinct. This revitalisation strategy will be assessed as
part of future planning for Brunswick.
Sydney Road
Sydney Road is probably the best known feature of Moreland and is significant as one of
Melbourne’s great Victorian retail streets, along with Smith Street, Chapel Street, and
Bridge Road. Sydney Road had its origins as the main route to the northern goldfields.
Many grand theatres and large establishments were located along it and many fine
examples of architecture remain in the number of churches and 19th century retail buildings
of two, three, and four storeys.
In more recent times, the integrity of this premier retail street has been eroded. Gaps and
irregular setbacks now break the rhythm of the street frontages. Bringing back the former
glory of Sydney Road by drawing from its high heritage value could have tremendous
impact on the way residents, visitors and businesses think about the area and about
Moreland in general.
Ensuring Sydney Road’s continued success as the municipality’s social and economic heart
is a key part of Council’s land use strategy. . To boost the road’s diverse and distinct
shopping and social activity, Council has commenced a program of improvements along
Sydney Road, including streetscape works, making it more conducive to pedestrians and
cyclists, improving facades and attracting retail development.
Council is working with VicRoads to investigate ways to maintain through-traffic and, at
the same time, to improve tram travel times, and safety and amenity for cyclists and
pedestrians, and to provide opportunities for streetscape improvements.
Arts precinct
The arts play a vital role in the life and vitality of this municipality. Council is keen to
develop an ‘arts precinct’ around the Brunswick Town Hall as the focus for arts and
cultural activities in the southern part of the city. This precinct will include the Counihan
Gallery in Brunswick and also the Mechanics Institute as a performing arts venue. Urban
improvements in this part of Sydney Road will complement the arts theme. Opportunities
for further expansion of the precinct and economic development opportunities should be
explored as part of future planning for Brunswick.
Retail centres
The Coburg Principal Activity Centre and the Major Activity Centres of Brunswick and
Glenroy, with excellent transport facilities and complementary civic, community and
convenience services, provide higher order shopping and entertainment opportunities. In
conjunction with additional housing, these areas will enhance their status as Moreland’s
Principal and Major Activity Centres.
Moreland’s urban villages also provide the infrastructure to sustain basic convenience
shopping within walking distance of most residential areas. Council will continue its strong
support for the many strip and local shopping centres in the municipality.
Industry and Employment
Moreland is the home to some major industrial companies. As many traditional industries
still remain, the industrial land supply must be carefully managed to ensure their continued
operation and protection from competing residential activities.
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Council aims to attract and keep industry in Moreland with a special focus on attracting
environmentally sustainable industries and protecting the textile, clothing, footwear, food
processing and vehicle components industries. However, there is a significant forecast
growth in non industrial employment activities related to retail, professional and managerial
businesses and services. Council will facilitate the use of inappropriately located or
underutilised industrial land for other new employment activities.
Council has identified a series of strategic categories to guide the future use and
development of industrial land. These categories include Core and Secondary Industry and
Employment, Multi Use - Employment, Multi Use - Residential and Transition-Residential.
Core and Secondary Industry and Employment Areas are intended to protect concentrations
of industry that are relatively unconstrained by residential or other sensitive uses for long
term industrial use. Multi Use - Employment Areas have been identified to accommodate a
wider mix of employment opportunities, including a mix of industry and offices and other
employment generating uses. Multi Use - Residential Areas have been identified to evolve
from previous industrial uses to a mix of office, retail, residential and other compatible
uses. Transition-Residential Areas have been identified to evolve from previous industrial
uses to medium density residential use.
Transport issues
Transport is a means to an end. It can have lesser or greater environmental consequences to
the point where quality of life can be seriously eroded. Congestion, pollution and other
environmental impacts of car and truck travel are detrimental to living conditions.
Council imagines a city where people choose to make their shorter trips (5 to 7 kilometres)
by public transport, walking or cycling. The Moreland Integrated Transport Strategy 1998
proposes moving a significant proportion of travel away from cars and trucks to trams,
trains, buses, bicycles and footpaths. This will be integrated with urban planning by
clustering development near transport corridors, providing easier pedestrian and cycling
access in existing and new street layouts, and in the design and management of space in
strip shopping centres.
The broad aim is for the most convenient, and therefore the most used, mode of transport to
be the best for the environment, the community and the economy.
One way to demonstrate better transport planning will be to take advantage of some of the
opportunities posed by the local freeway network. Council would like to see more through
traffic shifted to the freeway system and to see no significant increase in traffic on the
arterial roads system. While significant increases are projected for car travel across
Melbourne, Council will challenge the need for arterial road widening and the retention of
major widening opportunities in the planning scheme.
Council recognises the limits of its influence over the wider transport network. It will
continue to develop partnerships and working relationships with other groups and
organisations in the different transport networks. Great opportunities exist in revitalised
mass transit on trams and trains run by private sector operators. Council will advocate the
need for a metropolitan shift in transport policy away from car dependence.
Waterways
Historically, the network of waterways and associated open space has been treated only as a
drainage and floodway system. Today, waterways need to be viewed and managed in ways
that recognise their broader ecological functions.
The continued revegetation and regeneration of the Moonee Ponds and Merri Creeks
provide significant opportunities for improving the liveability and environmental
sustainability of Moreland. These parkland corridors will be enhanced by continued
landscape and revegetation work and protected by appropriate development controls.
Council supports the work of cooperative agencies and programs for planning and
developing these creeks.
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These corridors can be strengthened by better urban development along their margins, in
particular, with new housing which faces the parkland and gives a sense of safety and
activity. The waterways can be less polluted with litter and industrial waste. As such, the
current focus on stormwater management is on measures to store and retain stormwater,
trap and remove gross pollutants, and improve the quality of stormwater discharged to
receiving waterway environments.
The waterway parklands also help build a network of activities and destinations that can be
reached on foot or by bicycle, integrated into the wider municipality. The Centre for
Education and Research in Environmental Strategies (CERES) Environmental Park in
Brunswick East, for example, combines the mutual advantage of Merri Creek parkland with
activities like a Cafe, children’s farm and education centre.
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MORELAND PLANNING SCHEME
Map 3: Strategic Framework Plan
Note: This map shows simplified information only. Please refer to planning scheme maps
and detailed policies for precise boundaries.
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