Amendment C201 – Sheppard and Norris Street Industrial Precinct

Project progress
  1. AuthorisationAuthorisation
  2. ExhibitionExhibition
  3. Consider public submissionsConsider public submissions
  4. Panel HearingPanel Hearing
  5. Panel ReportPanel Report
  6. Council decisionCouncil decision
  7. Submit to MinisterSubmit to Minister
  8. Final decisionFinal decision

The Moreland Industrial Land Strategy

The Moreland Industrial Land Strategy (MILS) assesses Merri-bek's industrial land. It divides the land into 74 precincts. The Strategy finds that:

  • many precincts should stay industrial
  • some should transition to other employment uses, and
  • a small number should be developed for housing.

The Sheppard Street and Norris Street Precinct is one identified for a shift to housing. An owner of some of the properties in Sheppard Street and a purchaser of other properties have asked Council to rezone the Precinct to allow residential development.

You can find more information on the MILS on our Industrial Land page.

Land affected by the amendment

The amendment applies to:

  • 3-5, 4, 6, 7, 8, 10 and 16-20 Sheppard Street Coburg North
  • 2-4 and 6 Norris Street Coburg North
  • part of 39A Shorts Road, Coburg North (part of the car park and access to Hosken Reserve from Sheppard Street), and
  • a small section of land west of 11 Norris Street, Coburg North. This land is fenced into 16-20 Sheppard Street at the moment.

About the amendment

  • The amendment changes the planning scheme by:

    • rezoning the land to General Residential Zone (GRZ1) and Mixed Use Zone (MUZ1)
    • applying the Environmental Audit Overlay
    • applying the Incorporated Plan Overlay and
    • changing the planning scheme to update the precinct from 'Transition-Residential' to show as suitable for significant change.

  • Most of the properties are now included in the GRZ1. This is the same zone that applies to the surrounding residential area.

    Properties in the south west corner of the land are now in the MUZ1. This zoning will allow a wider range of land use and development on these properties.

  • Previous industrial uses are likely to have resulted in contamination of the land.

    The Environmental Audit Overlay ensures that sensitive land uses like housing do not start until it is safe.

    An Environmental Auditor has told us that 4 Sheppard Street can safely be used for them already. The rest of the land has now been included in the Overlay.

  • As part of the amendment future development must include:

    • buildings that are no more than three storeys tall next to existing houses
    • buildings that are no more than four or five storeys tall on the rest of the precinct
    • affordable housing
    • improved turning space for service and delivery trucks
    • pedestrian and cycling links from the east to Hosken Reserve
    • views into the Reserve and
    • tree planting along the boundary with the Reserve.

    The proposed Incorporated Plan and associated Overlay contain these requirements.

  • The amendment is part of Council's ongoing implementation of the MILS.

Further information

All documents associated with Amendment C201 can be found below. They are also available on the Victorian Government's Department of Transport and Planning website. 

For further information or to discuss with our Strategic Planning Team how the changes might affect you, you can email info@merri-bek.vic.gov.au or call 9240 1111.

We appreciate that amendment documents are not always easy to understand, so please contact us if you need any assistance. 

The documents on this page are in PDF-only format. If you have trouble opening or viewing a PDF document, you can get in touch with us using the details on our  on our Contact us page.  We can then arrange to provide the information in a format that suits your needs.

More information about our accessibility standards is available on our Accessibility page.

Council Consideration of Panel Report and Adoption

On 12 October 2022 Council considered the recommendations of the Panel and resolved to:

  1. Notes the findings and recommendations of the Amendment C201more Panel included at Attachment 1 to this report.
  2. Adopts Amendment C201more to the Moreland Planning Scheme pursuant to Section 29(1) of the Planning and Environment Act 1987, as exhibited and with the changes recommended by the Planning Panel and discussed at Section 3 of this report and shown at Attachment 2.
  3. Submits Amendment C201more to the Moreland Planning Scheme to the Minister for Planning for approval, pursuant to section 31 of the Planning and Environment Act 1987.

The Council Report and associated attachments can be found on the Council meetings and past agendas page.

Amendment C201more was submitted to the Minister for Planning for approval on 19 October 2022.

Panel Report

We received the Panel report on 9 September 2022.

The Panel Report may be viewed below:

Panel Hearing

The Panel Hearing took place by video conference on Monday, 15 August 2022.

Council's Panel documents associated with the Panel Hearing conducted on 15 August 2022 include:

If you would like to view the Appendices for Council's Part A and B submission please email StrategicPlanning@moreland.vic.gov.au

Below are the expert witness reports submitted as part of the Panel Hearing:

Exhibition of Amendment C201more

Amendment C201more was on public exhibition from 7 April 2022 to 13 May 2022. The outcome of the exhibition was presented to Council at the 8 June 2022 Council meeting. Here Council considered all submissions to C201more and resolved to refer the amendment and all submissions to an independent advisory Panel (Planning Panels Victoria).

Redacted copies of the six submissions received by Council during the exhibition period are available for view at Submissions 1 to 6 (4mb).

Frequently Asked Questions

  • A land owner and a purchaser have asked Council to prepare the amendment. It is not related to the Hosken Reserve Masterplan Refresh or to users of the Reserve.The amenity and safety of the Reserve have been considered in preparing the amendment. Council has been aware of the need to:

    • Improve the appearance of the precinct from the Hosken Reserve.
    • Improve access to the Reserve through the precinct for pedestrians and cyclists.
    • Address an issue where it is currently occupying part of 16-20 Sheppard Street.

  • The amendment includes mandatory maximum building heights for all properties.

    These range from three storeys next to existing houses to five storeys in the south-western corner of the precinct.

    The amendment does this by placing most properties in the General Residential Zone.

    The rest would be placed in the Mixed Use Zone, with heights controlled by the Incorporated Plan.

  • The precinct shares boundaries with residential and industrial land, parkland and the Upfield Railway. This has influenced the choice of new zones.

  • Residential properties next to the precinct are in the General Residential Zone. It

    • includes requirements about landscaping and the height of residential buildings, and
    • restricts commercial uses.

    This zone is proposed for most properties which share a boundary with, or are across a lane from, a residential property. This will help to protect the amenity of existing houses next to the precinct.

  • The Mixed Use Zone does not include a maximum building height. This is set by the Incorporated Plan instead.

    16-20 Sheppard Street wraps around some houses in Norris Street. Next to these properties development will need to be no more than three storeys tall.

    This matches the General Residential Zone that applies to the existing houses.The rest of the land can be developed to four and five storeys without impacting the amenity of existing dwellings. 

  • The Incorporated Plan Overlay allows Council to impose extra requirements on land owners. Any permit issued must be consistent with the Incorporated Plan. The Plan includes items which:

    Must be adhered to. This includes:

    • maximum building heights in the MUZ,
    • affordable housing contributions and
    • providing space for vehicles to turn around at the end of both streets.

    A proposal which does not meet all these requirements must be refused.

    The items that can be varied includes setbacks from property boundaries. If an application

    • does not meet all of these requirements and
    • the change impacts another property

    it would need to undergo public notification before a decision is made.

  • To keep your existing use rights you need to make sure that the business does not stop operating for:

    • a continuous period of 2 years, or
    • two or more periods of time which together total two years in any three-year period.

    Contact Council if you have any questions about keeping your existing use rights.

  • The answer depends on the type of business you operate and which property it is on. As a result we encourage you to call us to talk about any expansions you are planning.

  • There are small strips of land in the Hosken Reserve car park that are not formally owned by Council at the moment. Council cannot apply the Public Park and Recreation Zone to land that it doesn’t own. For this reason the land is proposed to be put into the same zone as the lots next to it. 

Privacy

Please be aware that Merri-bek City Council collects information from organisations and individuals during the planning scheme amendment process through submissions made to an Amendment. Submissions may be handwritten, electronic (both written and audio-visual), and often contain images, maps, and plans. Submissions frequently contain personal information which at times may be sensitive for commercial, health, or other reasons.

Natural justice and transparency are important parts of the Planning Scheme Amendment process. Under section 21(2) of the 'Planning and Environment Act 1987 (VIC)', Council must make all submissions to an Amendment available to view by any person at its offices for a period of two months after the Amendment is gazetted or lapses. This includes all personal names, telephone, and address details unless specifically requested to be deleted prior to the submission being made publicly available.

Submissions are used by Council when assessing the Amendment and summaries of your submission are included in any Council report that considers the Amendment following the close of the exhibition. Your submission will also be used and disclosed in the public process of a Panel Hearing if one is required. Any submission forwarded to Planning Panels Victoria will be managed in accordance with their privacy policy.

Publication of Submissions on our website

Council will make all submissions available to view online on its website during the Planning Scheme Amendment process. All submissions made available online will be redacted to remove personal names, telephone, and address details. Submissions will be removed from the website once the Amendment is finalised.

Use of your personal information

In accordance with the 'Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 (VIC)' and 'Health Records Act 2001 (VIC)' the personal information submitted by you is being collected by Merri-bek City Council for the submission process and it will not be disclosed to any other external party without your consent, except as a requirement of the 'Planning and Environment Act 1987 (VIC)'. This includes disclosing your personal information upon request (name and phone number only) to any person who made a submission during the Planning Scheme Amendment process.

If you do not provide your name and address Council will not be able to consider your submission.

You can gain access to the personal information you have provided to Merri-bek City Council and if you wish to alter it, please contact Council’s Privacy Officer by emailing email privacyofficer@merri-bek.vic.gov.au or on 9384 9111.

You can find more information regarding privacy on our Privacy page.