Golden Plains Shire Council (GPSC) has developed their Growing Places Strategy to shape the future of its residential growth. The strategy is one of several that aims to give effect to the Golden Plains Shire Community Vision 2040, which is grounded in 4 themes - Community, Liveability, Sustainability, and Prosperity. The initial stages of the Growing Places Strategy identified five townships most appropriate for residential growth over the next 15 years.
Golden Plains Shire Council engaged Morphum to refine the prioritisation between the townships, and between a suite of suitable land parcels within each township.
A multi-criteria assessment (MCA) model was developed to enable the assessment in terms of two components:
1. Services and infrastructure suitability. This included efficiency of supply of 7 elements such as water, sewerage, roading, waste management and electricity.
2. Sustainability suitability. Considered the local context in terms of 8 elements that contribute to improved wellbeing of residents such as access to green space, education, alternative transport, tree canopy and so on.
The model structure generated a cumulative suitability score for both infrastructure and sustainability. These two cumulative scores were then combined in generating a total MCA (suitability) score for each township and land parcel within the townships. The council provided relevant data as well as the weightings for the MCA model based on internal policy and priorities.
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The analysis was spatially represented through a GIS web map, offering an interactive platform for stakeholders to review data, assess infrastructure types, and understand sustainability impacts and benefits.
The second component of the work involved the development of a Sustainable Development Framework (SDF), which provides a tool to support residential growth in a way that it gives effect to themes under Vision 2040.
The framework integrates internationally recognised sustainability assessment tools and standards that provided a benchmark for best practice. These were then tailored to fit the specific needs of GPSC, and account for progress GPSC has already made for each.
The SDF was applied for two ‘conceptual projects’, in Meredith which emerged as the most suitable township for residential growth. The first was a sustainable transport concept, and the second, nature-based solutions to support integrated water management and climate resilience in provision of stormwater.
These projects demonstrate how holistic, sustainable residential development can be achieved as the strategy moves into detailed planning.
