Elevating Environmentally Sustainable Design

Ballarat City Council has unanimously endorsed Stage 2 of the Elevating Environmentally Sustainable Design project.

The move is a culmination of the City of Ballarat and 30 other local governments collaborating with the Municipal Association of Victoria and the Council Alliance to ensure Victorian communities are more resilient to the effects of climate change.

In 2017 Ballarat Council acknowledged the Municipal Association of Victoria’s declaration of a climate emergency and in early 2021 supported an aspirational target of community-wide net zero emissions by 2030.

It is crucial the City of Ballarat ensures residential and commercial development is built to the highest environmental standards, with unprecedented levels of population growth expected in the Ballarat area.

The project will ensure new growth areas and infill sites provide high quality, sustainable homes and workplaces for the growing city.

Elevated Environmentally Sustainable Design targets align with all six objectives of the City of Ballarat’s Council Plan, most crucially an environmentally sustainable future.

Ballarat City Council at the May meeting also approved a motion to proceed with seeking a Planning Scheme Amendment to incorporate the new provision into the Ballarat Planning Scheme.

Where the policy applies, planning permit applicants will be required to address:     

• Operational energy
• Sustainable transport
• Integrated water management
• Indoor environment quality
• Circular economy
• Green infrastructure

The new Environmentally Sustainable Design policy reflects the City of Ballarat’s growing focus on environmental and sustainability issues and will benefit current and future communities by making homes and workplaces more sustainable and liveable.

The City of Ballarat is working to secure additional expertise to support its planning department, external developers and applicants in navigating the new processes.

City of Ballarat Councillor Belinda Coates said it was great to see all nine councillors were on board and working in the same direction regarding the Elevating Environmentally Sustainable Design project.

“I feel like it is overdue, but I am so happy to see it at this point, now it is up to us to bring developers along, big or small to make sustainable choices for our community,” she said.

“It’s been challenging to raise the bar in the planning scheme, and it is a great thing to do collaboratively with other councils.

“It’s not difficult, it’s just different and will provide better liveability for our city and community.”