What character is your neighbourhood?

LOVE your neighbourhood? Here’s your chance to have your say on what’s great and up for improvement in your area.

The City of Ballarat are conducting a draft neighbourhood character initiative and have encouraged residents to submit their input about features of their residential suburbs.

This initial consulting stage is the first step of preparing the study which seeks to ensure that community values are recognised and acknowledged in future residential development.

Cr Belinda Coates said people are most passionate about the neighbourhood that they live in and directing this passion into the survey will be helpful for city planning.

“One of the challenging things in the planning sector is that neighbourhood character can sometimes be quite difficult to define and can be a little bit subjective,” she said.

“There are some really unique and different types of character across different suburbs, heritage eras and look and feels.

“The best way to define the character of an area is to have direct input from people about the neighbourhood’s that they live in because they’re experts.”

With Ballarat’s population expected to grow by 50,000 before 2040, some people see taking steps towards conserving characteristics of suburbs and a considered approach to housing growth is essential.

In addition to defining key features of areas within the city, Cr Coates said by completing a neighbourhood character assessment survey there could be clearer guidelines for planning decisions.

“It will help to develop a whole city approach that is balanced because planning is such a complex area and there are layers to it,” she said.

“If we can strengthen our city-wide planning guidelines, it will help with making decisions and so people know what to expect.

“The survey will overlap with the heritage gaps review and other local area plans to connect and benefit the future of Ballarat.”

To complete the draft Ballarat neighbourhood character assessment survey, visit mysay.ballarat.vic.gov.au or attend an online drop-in session with members of the Strategic Planning team by the end of September.