Slow progress on Pakington St development plan

A COMMUNITY stakeholder panel to guide development of a final Pakington Street development framework is yet to form more than six months after it was announced.

The City of Greater Geelong decided in November 2022 to undergo further engagement with community members and other impacted groups before agreeing in a final Pakington North Precinct Urban Design Framework (UDF).

Last year was the city’s second attempt to approve the area’s development guidelines, but ongoing protests at proposed height limits, fear of overdevelopment, traffic congestion and overshadowing of existing properties caused councillors to delay a decision.

A council agenda item on a report about the engagement process had appeared in advance notices of April’s council meeting but failed to make the final agenda.

The city’s acting director of planning and design Joanne Van Slageren said this week the city was still finalising its engagement approach.

“We are working with an independent engagement specialist to finalise our engagement approach, including the terms of reference for a community panel.

“We expect to present this to the council for endorsement in the coming months, and from there, hope to be able to recruit the panel by the end of September.

“The timeline for a final decision on the UDF will depend on the details of the process we are working on at the moment.”

Spokesperson for community campaign group “Help Save Pakington Street” Jane Mooney said it was reviewing the council model.

“A core group of Help Save Pakington Street members are currently reviewing the proposed co-design process for the Pakington North UDF. We will provide our formal feedback to council shortly.”

The city indicated in November 2022 it would decide on a final UDF by the end of this year.