The Creswick township structure plan will protect and enhance the existing character of our townships and to guide appropriate growth and development through providing a planning framework for private land use to 2050.

Through community engagement, township structure plans will seek to develop a shared vision that protects what we value, improves liveability, and empowers the community to thrive.

Your feedback and input through community engagement alongside research will guide the development of this plan.

Past community engagement

Council commenced engaging with the community about their vision for Creswick from 20 April to 20 May 2022 with a mix of both in person and online engagement methods enabling people to provide feedback or discuss with strategic planners their thoughts on planning for Creswick's future.

Community members indicated that the 'Identity of Creswick' was related to being:

The findings are provided in the Creswick Structure Plan Engagement Report (June 2022).

Phase One: Initial Community Engagement

The initial step was to capture the community's sentiments on six themes: Housing, business and economic development, transport connectivity, neighbourhood character and urban design, cultural heritage and biodiversity.

The Creswick structure plan; progressing the conversation (May 2023) was released exploring these themes and from 17 May to 2 July 2023 surveys were conducted to understand your values and priorities for the town. Community Conversations were also held in each town offering the community the opportunity to find out more and share their views in person as well.

The results of both engagement activities are provided in Creswick structure plan engagement report (July 2023) This is the beginning of the process of informing and developing the township structure plans with the community's input.

THANK YOU to the 77 people that completed the survey and the 22 people who attended Community Conversations for Creswick, across both engagement activities there were key elements of strong agreement amongst the community.

The rural character of their town, the lifestyle and community were highly valued, and people would like Creswick to be a well-known for its heritage and bushland.

There are concerns about development and how it will impact the town and community but are open to innovative approaches to manage housing affordability.

When considering opportunities for improvement, key themes were;

You can read about all the findings in the Creswick structure plan engagement report (July 2023).

The next phase will be to further explore your priorities in the upcoming co design workshops in late October and early November.

In early 2024 your feedback alongside input from research and technical studies will shape the development of the draft township structure plan that will be released for public comment.

The final stage is adoption of these structure plans which is earmarked for mid 2024.

We encourage you to register for Council's e-newsletter Hepburn Life to receive updates on these activities.