Thank you to everyone who provided feedback on the draft Housing and Neighbourhood Character Strategies.

The draft Housing Strategy and draft Neighbourhood Character Strategy have been developed based on what you told us during previous community engagement in 2022 and 2023, as well as Census data, population trends and projections, and expert reviews of Banyule’s neighbourhood character and housing capacity.

Together, the draft Strategies will manage Banyule’s housing development in a way that is inclusive, encourages good design and manages the impact on neighbourhood character.

The final draft documents will be taken to Council for adoption on Monday 5 August 2024.

Community engagement

Stage 3

From 12 April to 26 May 2024, we consulted with the community on the draft Housing and Neighbourhood Character Strategies.

Over 500 people provided feedback through various engagement activities, including:

  • 87 people completed an online survey, with 79 providing feedback on the draft Housing Strategy and 74 providing feedback on the draft Neighbourhood Character Strategy
  • 375 people attended pop-up sessions at various locations across Banyule
  • 9 people completed intercept surveys
  • 26 people attended two information sessions
  • 11 (4 individuals and a community group of seven) people attended one-on-one meetings with Council officers
  • 13 written responses.

View the Stage 3 full consultation report or take a look below at a summary of what we heard.

What we heard

The community acknowledged the need for more housing across Banyule and Melbourne. There were also strong themes of environmental protection, with an emphasis on retaining existing vegetation.

Draft Housing Strategy

The community supported that the Strategy addressed:

  • housing affordability and supply issues
  • struck a balance between density and character.

Key concerns:

  • increased housing density impacts on neighbourhood character
  • building densities will be too high/dense
  • environmental impacts resulting from development
  • infrastructure constraints resulting from increased housing in some locations.

Draft Neighbourhood Character Strategy

The community supported that the Strategy addressed:

  • maintaining a balance between valued character with some change, protecting the environment, and enabling housing diversity.

Key concerns :

  • draft Strategy did not adequately preserving existing character
  • impacts of development on specific character precincts
  • a desire for requirements to be clearer and more accessible for the average person to understand.

Context

It's been 10 years since Banyule’s Housing and Neighbourhood Character Strategies were developed.

Since then, our population has grown and our households have become more diverse. Melbourne is being reshaped by major infrastructure projects and our understanding of social and environmental sustainability has transformed.

We now need to update our Housing and Neighbourhood Character Strategies and plan for Banyule's changing housing needs.

Affordability, housing choice, rental housing, social connectivity and sustainability are important considerations, and we need to revisit how we balance the need for housing growth and diversity, while respecting neighbourhood character and the liveability of our suburbs.

The review of our Housing and Neighbourhood Character Strategies is a significant piece of work that is taking place over a number of years, and will include extensive community engagement at each stage.

Project stages

There are three stages for you to get involved:

The preliminary discussion paper was available for your review, along with an opportunity to share your thoughts by completing an online survey. The feedback provided helped to inform the topics in the Stage 2 Housing Discussion Paper, which is a more detailed document.

The survey for Stage 1 is closed. View the survey results.

The Discussion Paper presented analysis on the important housing issues in Banyule, as well as opportunities to address housing challenges for our residents.

Extensive consultation was conducted to ensure all sectors of the community were involved. Feedback helped to inform the Draft Housing and Neighbourhood Character Strategies.

The survey for Stage 2 is closed. View the survey results.

Draft Strategies have been developed for exhibition and community feedback.

  • The draft Housing Strategy outlines Council’s long-term plan to manage future housing growth and change so that it best meets the ongoing needs of the Banyule community.
  • The draft Neighbourhood Character Strategy has been prepared alongside the Draft Housing Strategy. It identifies the important features and key issues of each neighbourhood and provides strategic direction to guide future development.

There were a number of ways for people to get involved in Stage 3 community engagement including information sessions, pop-up sessions, an online survey and meeting up with the Team.

The final strategies will include recommendations for changes to the Banyule Planning Scheme. Further consultation will be planned as part of any future Planning Scheme Amendment process.

Housing Discussion Paper 2023

The Housing Discussion Paper was developed to support your participation in the development of our Housing and Neighbourhood Character Strategies. It tells a story about Banyule's housing journey so far, and where we want to go to respond to the needs of our existing and future community.

It considered:

The Housing Discussion Paper was organised under three 'Pillars' that identified priorities of our housing discussion.

  1. Driving housing for all: we are an inclusive community that plans for housing for all ages, incomes, abilities and preferences.
  2. Elevating good design: we are committed to facilitating high quality places through sustainable, accessible and quality deign.
  3. Valuing preferred neighbourhood character: we have unique urban characters across the municipality, that we want to enhance and protect for current and future generations.

The pillars will continue to work together to guide Banyule's approach to housing. No Pillar is more important than another.

Community engagement

From July to August 2023, we consulted with the community on our Housing Discussion Paper.

We received over 350 contributions through an online survey, youth survey, email/mail submissions and in-person engagement activities, ranging from workshops, walking tours and pop-up sessions, at various locations across Banyule.

Your feedback was important to refine the direction of the Housing and Neighbourhood Character Strategies.

Click here to see an overview of the engagement findings.

What you told us

What you told us about the key themes for each of the three pillars include:

  • Pillar 1 -
    Driving housing for all

    • Support for diverse housing and innovative housing delivery options
    • Divided views on high density housing
    • Concern about housing affordability.

  • Pillar 2 -
    Elevating good design

    • Support accessible, environmentally sustainable and quality design measures
    • Preference for clear design provisions for setbacks and active frontage to the street
    • Concern about the potential adverse impacts of medium and high density development.

  • Pillar 3 -
    Valuing preferred neighbourhood character

    • Enhance local identity
    • Manage the pace of change and development
    • Stronger protection of neighbourhood character
    • Maintain and enhance vegetation and tree canopy.

Preliminary Discussion Paper 2022

What we did

From May to June 2022, we consulted with the community on the Preliminary Discussion Paper to find out what's important to them about where and how they live and what the future needs of the community might be.

During this time 366 people provided feedback through an online survey , with over 1,800 visits to the Shaping Banyule project page. Your feedback helped to inform the development of a detailed Housing Discussion Paper .

What you told us

The key themes for housing were:

The key themes for neighbourhood character were:

View the findings report here.

The Preliminary Discussion Paper and feedback received were needed to start a conversation and consider how the housing and policy landscape has changed since 2009.

It was important to go on this journey together to consider whether our housing aims are being achieved, and how we can adapt our thinking and approach to our current needs.

We have taken your feedback and analysed the population data and housing trends to present you with the facts, scenarios, and options for how to proceed in Banyule’s housing and neighbourhood character journey.