Deans Creek PSP Project

The CRG will be made up of around 26 adult members of the Colac community who have their primary place of residence in Colac or surrounds, drawn from different parts of the town, and represent different age groups.  It will include representation from the Aboriginal community to provide Indigenous perspectives.

Landowners within the PSP area cannot form part of the CRG to avoid conflicts of interest.  A Landowner Forum is being established separately for interested property owners from within the precinct to meet on a regular basis, provide updates, and discuss the project.

Members of the CRG are responsible for:

• Ensuring active participation in meetings by all members through attendance and contributing to discussions.
• Reviewing relevant information or documents. 
• Adhering to the Ground Rules for Behaviour as noted in the Terms of Reference.
• Managing and reporting individual member’s conflicts of interest.
• Maintaining confidentiality where required.
• Meeting as requested by the Chair, generally in accordance with the Terms of Reference.
• Confirming previous minutes.

The CRG will report to the Colac Otway Shire Executive following key project milestones which are at the:

• Completion of the co-design stakeholder engagement workshops.
• Commencement of public exhibition of the planning scheme amendment to implement the Deans Creek PSP project.

The purpose of the reporting will be to provide direct feedback from the CRG to the Executive about the project in relation to the milestone.

Whilst all feedback from the CRG meetings and reports will be taken into consideration to help shape the project, some feedback may not be implemented into the Deans Creek PSP because of policy, legislative or other regulatory considerations.   When this occurs, the CRG will be informed about the reasons why specific feedback or ideas can’t be implemented as part of the PSP.

A key purpose of the meetings between the CRG and project team is to help explain what matters can and can’t be considered at this stage of planning for growth, and to consider the views of the CRG to help develop a robust plan that will generally reflect the aspirations of the Colac community.

The Community Reference Group (CRG) will meet every second month for around 12 to 18 months to help inform the preparation of the PSP.

The CRG are likely to meet on a Thursday of the relevant month from 4 – 5:30pm in person at COPACC, or in a hybrid online format as required.  On occasion an additional meeting may be required. 

It is anticipated meetings will commence in 2024 and be held every alternate month until early 2025.  This will depend on how long it takes for the PSP to be ready for public exhibition.  

The CRG will also participate in the co-design workshops.

The CRG will participate in the co-design workshops along with a range of landowners, business representatives, community groups, government, council, and agency stakeholders. 

The co-design milestone is a key event in the project where stakeholders come together to discuss a preliminary draft plan that shows where different land uses and infrastructure could be located.  This process allows participants to hear the views of others including government stakeholders and landowners, provide feedback, and see how feedback is used to inform subsequent versions of the plan. 

The plan can change many times in response to various feedback as part of its refinement.  The co-design workshops are facilitated by council to help participants understand what the initial ideas are about how the PSP area could develop, and enable stakeholders to discuss different options to inform the next version and refinement of the plan. 

The co-design workshop will involve:

• One full day workshop (during normal business hours) where the preliminary draft plan will be presented for discussion.
• One half day workshop (during normal business hours) (2 weeks after the first workshop) where the next version (version 2) of the plan will be presented in response to feedback from the first workshop, and further feedback will be collated.
• One half day workshop (during normal business hours) may be required (4-6 weeks after the first workshop or TBD) to provide additional opportunities for feedback on version 3 of the plan.

Conflicts of interest can occur where a person directly involved in the Deans Creek PSP project may derive direct benefit such as financial gain from the outcomes of the project.   

To manage actual or perceived conflicts of interest, a CRG member may not have any financial or property interest in the PSP area.  That is, members or their direct family members (e.g. partner / spouse, children, parents) may not own property or have any financial interest within the PSP project area.

If a member or their direct family member purchase property within the PSP area, they will be required to resign their membership.

Landowners will be engaged separately as part of the planning process and Landowner Forum.

As part of the application process to become a member, applicants must declare any property interests within the PSP area, or any property interests relatives or close associates may have in the PSP area as part of the Expression of Interest process to recruit CRG members.

As an ongoing project governance practice, CRG members will be required to declare any conflicts of interest prior to the discussion of issues or at any time a conflict of interest, or potential conflict of interest arises.

The help with the smooth running of the CRG, the group will be governed by a Terms of Reference (TOR) document, which establishes the following things:

• The purpose, roles and responsibilities of the group.
• An overview of the project.
• Membership.
• Information about meetings.
• Conflicts of interest.
• Managing confidentiality and dispute resolution.

In order to be a part of the CRG, members must agree to the Terms of Reference (TOR). 

The TOR document can be accessed here(PDF, 612KB).

A PSP is a land use and infrastructure plan that guides the future development of an area.  The Deans Creek PSP will comprise:

• An urban structure plan:  This plan is the overall framework that provides direction on the location of future land uses (such as housing, and employment), transport networks, conservation areas, open space and supporting infrastructure. 
• A Development Contributions Plan (DCP):  The DCP is an infrastructure funding plan that sets out requirements on the developer/s to contribute towards the provision of the infrastructure required to service the new community.  The DCP is prepared alongside the urban framework and is a key document in the implementation of the PSP.   

The Deans Creek Growth Area has been identified in the Colac 2050 Growth Plan as the priority growth area for the Shire, and will accommodate most of the residential growth in the Shire for the next 30 years. 

The PSP will ensure that the future use and development of the land occurs in an efficient way, and ensure that the required infrastructure is provided to serve the new community. 

The PSP is underpinned by a rigorous assessment process, where the technical investigations that establish the land’s suitability for development are undertaken before the land is rezoned. 

This allows for the constraints and opportunities across the entire precinct to be known and planned for in the PSP, therefore reducing the number of potential complexities that may be encountered at the planning permit application stage.

Once the draft Precinct Structure Plan has been prepared, an amendment to the Colac Otway Planning Scheme will be undertaken, to incorporate the PSP and DCP into the scheme. 

The amendment will seek to rezone the land to Urban Growth Zone (UGZ).   Once rezoned, landowners will be able to apply for the required planning permits to develop their land, in the form guided the PSP.  

Developers will also be required, as part of any permits, to contribute towards the provision of the required infrastructure to service the new community. 

Contributions could comprise a monetary contribution, provision of land, or provision of works-in-kind (developer constructs the infrastructure).  

Details of the contributions, the amounts and the specific items to be funded, will be set out in the DCP.  Council will have a lead role in the implementation of the PSP, in partnership with the relevant agencies. 

The PSP project will also include a Native Vegetation Precinct Plan (NVPP) to identify any areas of ecologically significant land that must be protected from development.