This consultation is now closed. Thanks for your feedback.

At its meeting on 4 September 2018, Council adopted the Spatial Economic and Employment Strategy (SEES), which is intended to assist Council to understand, and capitalise on, Yarra’s economic strengths and respond to the key trends and economic drivers over the next 10 to 15 years.

A bit about this project

Our employment precincts provide the foundation of our economy. They accommodate a diverse and constantly evolving mix of land uses including retail and entertainment, knowledge and service industries and health and education facilities.

Council has a responsibility to plan for how our land is most effectively used to accommodate our changing economy and ensure employment and enhanced liveability is provided well into the future.

Yarra's draft Spatial, Economic and Employment Strategy aims to ensure key precincts and land are available to support our economic strengths. The directions in the strategy will inform local policy through our planning scheme supporting ongoing job opportunities and a future ready Yarra.

What we've heard

We’ve sought community views on planning for a future economy, in particular through our Liveable Yarra project. We’ve also conducted workshops with local business owners and operators.

We've analysed all feedback along with economic trends and data to identify six directions. The directions aim to provide clarity on Yarra's various economic precincts, including activity centres, health precincts and industrial areas, and relevant land zoning considerations for the next 10 to 15 years.

The six directions:

  1. Support employment growth in Activity Centres
  2. Retain and grow Yarra's Major Employment Precincts
  3. Identify preferred locations for housing growth
  4. Support the expansion of health related employment and services in Yarra's health precincts
  5. Retain other C2 zoned precincts (unless future strategic planning processes support their change)
  6. Retain Yarra's existing industrial precincts

Glossary of planning terms

Activity Centre: An area that provides a focus for services, employment, housing, transport and social interaction.  They include Yarra's main retail streets.  

Major Employment Precincts: There are two in Yarra - Cremorne and Church Street, Richmond and Gipps Street, Collingwood.  They host a diversity of traditional industrial uses, commercial offices and creative industries.  

Planning Scheme: A core responsibility of local government is to provide a planning scheme that sets out how land can be used, developed, protected or conserved.  it includes policies, zones, overlays and other provisions to achieve its objectives.

C2 Zoned land: Planning zones determine particular purposes for land and include controls relating to buildings, works and subdivision.  The purpose of C2 zoned land is:

  • To encourage commercial areas for offices, appropriate manufacturing and industries, bulky goods retailing, other retail uses, and associated business and commercial services.
  • To ensure that uses do not affect the safety and amenity of adjacent, more sensitive uses.  Dwellings (apartments, houses) are prohibited in the C2 Zone.