A structure plan is a long-term plan that will guide how a town will develop and change over time. It is a directional document that provides guidance on how to manage and facilitate change within a town or area.

A structure plan includes a vision along with objectives and strategies to achieve the vision. This addresses how land can be used, what facilities and infrastructure are required to support the town and how challenges and opportunities can be addressed.

Toolamba has been investigated as a potential location for residential growth over the past two decades. This structure plan will provide updates to, and build on, a range of previous reports, panel reports and studies including the Toolamba Growth Plan, 2020.

The structure plan will provide direction to manage sustainable development of the towns by defining their unique character, facilitating orderly growth, enlivening the town core, strengthening the local economy, protecting unique environmental qualities and building community resilience.

A background paper has been developed outlining all the research and data to provide the foundation for the development of the structure plan. This includes economic and residential drivers, environmental and infrastructure considerations, bushfire and biodiversity assessments, and community desires and expectations.

Download the Background Report

A draft structure plan for the towns has now been developed and is available for community comments.

Download the Draft Structure Plan

The final structure plan will be developed after consideration of community comments. It will then be presented to Council for further consideration and formal adoption.

In developing the draft Structure Plan community drop-in sessions were held in July 2024 to test the vision and objectives for the towns. This was designed to ensure consultation undertaken to inform the Toolamba Growth Plan 2020 and a previous project in 2019 was still relevant. A report on the outcomes of this initial consultation can be found below:

Download the Preliminary Information Sessions Community Engagement Report

The Toolamba Growth Plan was prepared in 2020 and endorsed by Council. In conjunction with a precinct structure plan prepared by a land holder, an amendment was prepared to implement them into the Greater Shepparton Planning Scheme. A planning panel considered these two amendments and recommended their abandonment due to insufficient strategic justification.

The preparation of the Toolamba Structure Plan seeks to address the issues identified by the Panel and consider the future of Toolamba from first principles.

The structure plan has identified a modest amount of growth opportunities to service a demand for larger lot sizes for housing in towns like Toolamba (larger than conventional greenfield areas). The structure planning process has considered the best location for that development to be located.

Based on additional bushfire, flooding and biodiversity studies, development to the south and west of Toolamba was identified as the safest location for new residential development to occur. Areas near the Goulburn River had higher flooding and bushfire risks. Growth in Old Toolamba was not considered appropriate due to the high risk of flooding around the town.

The 2019 Growth Plan was predicated on the delivery of this major piece of infrastructure. The alignment for the proposed Shepparton Bypass is included in a Public Acquisition Overlay of the Greater Shepparton Planning Scheme. With no current commitment to deliver the bypass, the structure plan provides for a more modest growth scenario with a recommendation to review the structure plan if, and when funding is announced.

No, existing residents will not be required to connect into the proposed sewerage system. Existing septic systems that all residents and businesses operate on, will be able to continue to operate meeting servicing and maintenance requirements.

When septic systems are at their end of life, there is the opportunity for existing residential properties to then be connected to any future sewer system.

The water authority, Goulburn Valley Water (GVW) has indicated that the delivery of sewered infrastructure to the existing residential areas of Toolamba and Old Toolamba is not identified in their current five-year Price Plan 2023-2028. This document sets out the services and network upgrades GVW will provide, and the price customers will pay for the five-year period. For GVW to have available funding to construct sewer infrastructure to service the existing residential areas of Toolamba and Old Toolamba, it will need to be included and approved in a future Price Plan.

GVW is willing to work with Council to investigate sewering these towns following the provision of infrastructure (which will convey sewerage to a treatment facility) by a developer to service new residential land.

GVW cannot require landowners to connect to the sewerage infrastructure unless the land is declared to be a serviced property under s. 144 of the Water Act 1989. The Act sets out the requirements for this process including issuing of notices to affected landowners and Council and the declaration to be published in the Government Gazette. This is a process that would take considerable time to undertake, if it were to be undertaken.

Under s.147(1) of the Water Act 1989, the Authority may require the owner of the serviced property to connect the property to the sewerage works of the Authority. This includes the method of notification and time for the requirement to be carried out. While there are powers under the Water Act for the water authority to require a landowner to connect to reticulated sewer (where provided), GVW have not used these available powers to date and have indicated they have no foreseeable plans to do so.