By Mikayla van Loon
After years of consultation and planning, the new Lilydale Structure Plan has been adopted by Yarra Ranges Council, outlining the growth and future of the town.
Having received feedback from the community while the draft plan was on public exhibition for a 10 week period between 16 December and 28 February, issues of building heights, traffic management and a Lilydale bypass were commonly noted.
From the feedback received, clarifications were given by the council particularly relating to building heights, comparing other suburbs like Box Hill and Ringwood to what is proposed for Lilydale.
Councillor Sophie Todorov said having been involved in the community consultation process about the high rise buildings, she felt there was some miscommunication about what it would look like for Lilydale.
“There was a bit of opposition to having multi-storey buildings in the CBD of up to six storeys…I do believe there was perhaps some misconception or miscommunication around what that would look like,” she said.
“I feel pleased to say that we’ve had these discussions, that we’ve had transparency and that the proposed rezoning of those areas of Lilydale are going to be appropriate and suitable for the multi-storey development.”
Replacing the existing 2006 structure plan, the newly adopted plan will inform the council moving forward on development, future land use and the creation of a 20-minute neighbourhood.
The structure plan addresses points of concern about housing, transport, parkland, connectivity, natural resource protection, streetscape design, heritage preservation and built form characteristics.
Lilydale resident Paul Dempsey spoke against the motion, suggesting the idea of an overhead bypass was not clearly mapped out for the local community.
Noting the disturbance it could potentially cause to the natural environment, Mr Dempsey said he does not believe the community would be happy with such destruction, as well as the extra emissions caused by building a large concrete structure.
Mr Dempsey also outlined the potential for food gardens to be built in Lilydale, alongside a wildlife corridor.
“There are two brilliant sites along the rail trail…it can be a tourist drawcard and generous food trees and gardens in Lilydale and beautiful showcased nature gardens which we need to revive the wildlife corridor,” he said.
“In a climate emergency we can’t afford to shift the pool or the sports facilities but we could open them up on the creek side, making it a beautiful fern walk.”
Mr Dempsey requested the council delay the recommendation to adopt the structure plan to consider the items raised, however, Councillor Tim Heenan said he could not see the need to do so but the council would continue to work with Mr Dempsey on achieving his desired outcomes.
Councillor Fiona McAllister said she is saddened that as a council they have not progressed substantially in the area of edible food gardens and thanked Mr Dempsey for continuing to raise the issue and idea at every opportunity.
Responding to a question asked by Councillor Andrew Fullagar, planning, design and development director Kath McClusky said “the structure plan doesn’t preclude those projects from happening.”
Lilydale and District Historical Society president and member of the Lilydale Project Reference Group Sue Thompson spoke in support of the structure plan and was thrilled after four years to have made it to this point.
Beginning in February 2018, the advisory group made up of 12 community representatives met monthly to discuss Lilydale as a town and Ms Thompson said the key message from the group was that Lilydale needed a heart.
“All agreed on the need to give Lilydale a heart and an identity in light of the massive changes which were to occur and have now occurred, the Lilydale Level Crossing Removal and Kinley development,” she said.
“It took 12 months of work and a further 12 months to have the Lilydale place plan adopted. This final plan is the end result of all that work done sterlingly by the council staff.”
Ms Thompson urged the council to make the bypass a priority when lobbying at the upcoming State election, as records show the push for a bypass dates back to the 1950s.
Disagreeing with Mr Dempsey, Ms Thompson said she felt an overhead bypass raised at Hutchinson Street would allow for bike paths and garden beds to be built underneath, calling the concept “ingenious”.
Touching on the inclusion of the heritage priorities, Ms Thompson said she was pleased the heritage was included in the final plan, as well as both Aboriginal and European history being acknowledged.
“What this structure plan will do is guide us and Lilydale has never had that. Lilydale has never had a heritage overlay…we are now moving into the future and there’s a lot of opportunity for us to do great things here,” Cr Heenan said.
“Also taking into account that we will have the Kinley estate coming in the next decade with many more thousands of residents…but we’ve got to keep all of it in balance.”
The recommendation to approve the Lilydale Structure Plan was passed unanimously by all councillors on Tuesday 9 August.
