Macedon Ranges Shire Council will develop a township structure plan as part of planning for the future of Romsey.
The council asked residents last year ‘what should Romsey look like into the future?’ which resulted in the Romsey Issues and Opportunities Paper, now available on the council’s website.
The paper is the first step in the council’s work towards understanding what the future of Romsey could look like and plan the long term future of Romsey.
Residents, community groups, business and service authorities such as VicRoads all provided feedback into the paper.
Key findings included:
The creek corridor is a valued asset within the Romsey community; Greater housing diversity within the town is required; The current utilities and services such as telecommunications and drainage within Romsey need substantial upgrades; Improvements are needed to the number of public transport services along with better integration with train services; Footpath and shared path infrastructure needs to be improved; There is significant support from the community for Romsey to have both a secondary school and aquatic facility.
The current strategic plan for Romsey is outlined in the Romsey Outline Development Plan, adopted by the council in 2009, which sets a vision for the town until the year 2021.
The new planning work will enable the council to look beyond 2021 and carefully plan for the long-term future of Romsey.
Some of the issues identified in the paper include the lack of pedestrian crossing points over Melbourne-Lancefield Road, localised flooding issues and limited public access to sections of the Five Mile Creek corridor.
Opportunities include better integrating and connecting Romsey’s numerous heritage sites and open space areas with shared paths or heritage trails, and a potential shared path link between Romsey and Clarkefield.
You can read the paper and consultation report, and sign up for regular updates on the project, at mrsc.vic.gov.au/Romsey-Futures.
A Victorian Planning Authority grant has helped to fund the next steps in the process, including the development of an emerging options paper and a new township structure plan.
