Council adopts Pakington North UDF

On Tuesday 28 May 2024, Councillors adopted the Pakington North Urban Design Framework.

The final UDF will inform a planning scheme amendment process, which will involve provide further opportunity for community feedback. The UDF will be used to guide future growth and development including built form outcomes, streetscape design, movement and access, land use, and assist in the assessment of future development proposals.

Update - 18 November 2022

Following a review of community feedback, the City is taking a new engagement approach to the Urban Design Framework (UDF) for the Pakington North Precinct.

We want to give the community a greater voice on the precinct’s future and will create a community panel of residents, traders and customers to facilitate a discussion with the aim of reaching a consensus on the urban design for Pakington North Precinct.

The panel will co-design with the City a new and agreed UDF for the precinct at a series of workshops in the new year, run by an independent facilitator.

The new UDF draft will then be presented to Council for review and endorsement.

More information will be shared shortly, including details about the development of the panel and the process for appointing members. Make sure to hit ‘Follow’ on the project’s Have Your Say page to receive email updates on the refreshed process.


Engagement results

We've released a report capturing community feedback on the Pakington North Precinct as part of the Pakington Street and Gordon Avenue Urban Design Frameworks (UDF).

Engagement on the latest round of consultation was focused on the northern end of Pakington Street from Church Street to Waratah Street and Wellington Street.

There were 75 contributions to the survey and email submissions received during the most recent engagement.

Submissions were received from 18 suburbs, with 58.2 per cent from Geelong West

Overall, there were mixed views towards the UDF and proposed built form controls. The top four identified concerns are building heights and development; traffic and parking; amenity, character and heritage and engagement program. There is an alternative view that the reduced building heights in the UDF are prescriptive, conservative and a missed opportunity.

We thank everyone who shared their views on the Pakington North Precinct. Community input is really important to this process and all feedback will contribute to the final outcome that will be considered at an upcoming Council meeting.

The Community Engagement Report can be accessed here or it can be found in the Document Library section of this page (right hand side).


Background

In December 2021, Council considered the Pakington Street and Gordon Avenue Urban Design Framework (UDF) and adopted two of the three precincts in the Final UDF, namely, the Heritage Core and Gordon Avenue precincts. Council also endorsed further engagement for the Pakington North Precinct.

Without a UDF, the Pakington North Precinct is at risk of inappropriate development as there are currently areas with no height limits.

The current controls provide little or no protection from overdevelopment, overshadowing, loss of privacy, and retention of heritage and character.

The UDF aims to transition from the two-storey height controls in the heritage area around Geelong West Town Hall to medium-rise height in the northern end of the Pakington Street.

The latest engagement aimed to help residents and stakeholders better understand the process that led to the proposed built form controls and potential development outcomes for this area.

Refinements to the Final UDF can be found on page three of the Final UDF and those specific to the Pakington North Precinct are summarised below:

  • Changes to building heights in some locations
  • Changes to residential interfaces to improve transition to sensitive uses
  • Changes to improve solar access and mitigate potential overshadowing

If you are new to this project and would like to read more about the project history and previous rounds of engagement, please visit Final Pakington Street (Geelong West) and Gordon Avenue UDF.

Watch the Explanatory Videos

Video One focuses on the aim of this UDF and the proposed built form controls as well as key community concerns raised through previous rounds of community engagement.

Video Two focuses on the concept of Floor Area Ratio and its use as a planning tool for development of strategic sites.

Video Three - Pakington North Precinct Webinar Recording held on 18 August 2022. The recording goes for one hour and 11 minutes. Responses to questions raised during the webinar can be found here.


Have Your Say

This engagement is now closed however, visit the Pakington North Precinct Community Panel Expression of Interest page to find out how you can be involved in the next exciting stage.


We are keen to hear from you! There are several options for you to share your feedback, they are:

1. A live webinar with opportunities for Q&A. The questions can be raised in advance by clicking the button below.

2. A series of Neighbourhood Chats to address specific concerns of residents living in different areas of the precinct.

3. A short online survey to collect feedback on Pakington North Precinct of the UDF. Hard copy surveys are available upon request.

The engagement was open from the 11 August - 11 September 2022.

The personal information requested on this form is being collected by City of Greater Geelong for the purpose of the Pakington Street Urban Design Framework or any other directly related purpose. Your personal information will only be disclosed to carry out a deeper analysis of the data* or as required to do so by law. Our privacy policy is available on our website. If you wish to alter any of the personal information you have supplied to City of Greater Geelong, please contact us by sending an email to privacy@geelongcity.vic.gov.au.

*In order to gain a deeper understanding of the data provided to the City and improve our services to you, we may disclose the information you provide to us to AWS Comprehend which carry out analysis of the data. Your personal information may be disclosed to AWS Comprehend based in Sydney only in relation to the primary purpose of collection. View the following link for AWS Comprehend’s Data Privacy statement.

Please visit our Coronavirus Support page for information about impacts on City events, services and facilities

The City is guided by the latest advice from Commonwealth and State authorities in our response to the outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19).

In line with government restrictions on non-essential gatherings and activities, the City is not undertaking any face-to-face (in person) engagement activities until further notice.