By JESSE GRAHAM
WHAT do you want Healesville to look like in the next 50 years?
The Yarra Ranges Council is asking residents to have their say in the final step for the Draft Healesville Structure Plan, which has been put out for submissions until mid-March.
The draft plan details strategies and actions the council plans to take around the Healesville area into the future, and is the result of more than a year of consultations, community meetings and submissions.
Ryrie ward councillor, Fiona McAllister, said that groups in town were looking “really closely” at the document, which recommends projects such as a redevelopment of the town’s outdoor pool into an aquatic centre, and a bike trail connecting to Warburton and Lilydale.
Cr McAllister said she hoped the draft reflected the “community voice” expressed through consultations, and urged residents to look at the document with the future in mind.
“The difficulty is, for most of us, the document is only meaningful for us down the track,” she said.
“For me, it’s about balance – it’s about what do we want our town to look like in 50 years’ time? Have we got the industrial and commercial zones in the right place – allowing the right amount of growth, but not too much?
“I really hope that everybody takes the time to … even put in one sentence of feedback, or confirm their point-of-view about these issues.”
The plan noted that Healesville needs to accommodate an extra 12,300 square metres of “activity space” in the next 20 years, and discusses options such as a new supermarket for the town.
“The establishment of a new small-to-medium supermarket would meet current unmet retail demand,” it read.
“An additional larger supermarket … could be accommodated in the longer term to meet anticipated demand, but would cause significant disruption to existing food and grocery shops in the short term.”
Suggestions such as encouraging Parks Victoria to upgrade its facilities at the Maroondah Dam, and considering actions to recognise Indigenous history in the town’s main centre are also listed in the plan.
Cr McAllister said the document was not an action plan for the town, but was a “blueprint” for every strategy and action that council makes in the town.
Submissions on the Draft Healesville Structure Plan will close on 15 March. For more information, visit www.yarraranges.vic.gov.au.
