By Callum Ludwig
With great change and a very busy period of development in the pipeline for Warburton, residents have many questions about how it will all come together.
Between the Warburton Place Plan adopted in 2021, the draft Warburton Urban Design Framework (UDF) and the approval of the Warburton Mountain Bike Destination (WMBD), members of the Upper Yarra Sustainable Development Alliance (UYSDA) had questions about how it will all come together to best suit the needs of the township.
Member Christian Nielsen said they are worried Yarra Ranges Council is trying to build up the infrastructure capacity of Warburton before addressing the public safety concerns.
“We feel that the urban design framework has been tailored towards leveraging a tourism industry and not towards creating the space for locals to thrive at all,” he said.
“There seems to be a really strong assumption that by building infrastructure and giving infrastructure to sports clubs and others, you increase happiness and well-being but it’s not that simple. It’s tied in with inclusion and public spaces with atmosphere and culture, not just new roads and infrastructure that completely miss the mark.”
Warburton’s preparation for emergencies is also at the forefront of resident’s minds, with the recent Warburton Highway landslip just adding to the concerns that emergency traffic, access and management are dangerous and inadequate, especially when likely increased tourist traffic is factored in from attractions like the future WMBD.
Mr Nielsen said they live in one of the most fire-prone areas in Australia and the Warburton community are calling for an emergency management plan.
“Now with an extra couple of hundred thousand visitors per year for this mountain bike development, do we really have the carrying capacity with one road in and one road out,” he said.
“The carrying capacity of the Warburton Highway has never been assessed, the mountain bike proposal was done with a comparative analysis to other parts of Australia and countries but there’s a need to practice and assess the access in and out.”
In an open letter to Yarra Ranges Council, the UYSDA made the following recommendations.
1. Urgently develop the Emergency Management Plan and the Emergency Access Plan;
2. Make the Terms of Reference for the Emergency Management Plan and the Emergency Access Plan available for public viewing on the YRC website along with the Consultation Stakeholder List;
3. Develop the Traffic Management Plan with broader community consultation as required through the EES process for the WMBD;
4. Make Terms of Reference for the Traffic Management Plan and public consultation process available on the YRC website.
5. Extend the Warburton Urban Design Framework by 8-12 months and make the completed Emergency Management Plan, the Emergency Access Plan and the Traffic Management Plan available to the public as part of the consultation process.
6. Highlight to the public how the Emergency Management Plan, the Emergency Access Plan and Traffic Management Plan will be considered in the Warburton Urban Design Framework.
7. Better explain and display the linkages between the Warburton Urban Design Framework and the Warburton Place Plan.
Yarra Ranges Council’s Director of Planning, Design and Development Nathan Islip said Council have engaged with Warburton residents seeking their feedback and input into the shaping of the future of Warburton.
“The now-adopted Warburton Place Plan sought to capture community aspirations, concerns and ideas. The current UDF will meaningfully consider their recommendations and ideas, and where appropriate will make updates to more closely align with their interests,” he said.
“The projects proposed within the UDF will also undertake further dedicated consultation and engagement with the local community to deliver on-the-ground outcomes that align with community expectations.”
Council has referred the Draft UDF to CFA for comment while factoring in previous advice from earlier development applications and WMBD research. Any further developments would require separate planning approval and would hence also be referred to CFA for comment.
Mr Islip said the Warburton UDF is proceeding independent of the WMBD project and is not impacted by any associated delays.
“The local and regional pressures on Warburton, including tourism, planned private development and Council projects, were considered in the Warburton Place Plan which was adopted by Council in 2021,” he said.
“Warburton’s natural attributes and village character continue to be highly popular for locals and tourists. The Warburton Urban Design Framework has been developed to explore solutions that will protect this character while managing some of the pressure points. The projects within the UDF will be prioritised to respond to each of the needs and opportunities for Warburton, and will assist in alleviating some impacts of increased tourism driven by a future WMBD.”
