At the City of Whittlesea, we're committed to creating liveable neighbourhoods within a sustainable environment. Whittlesea 2040: A place for all is our long-term vision for the municipality. It guides all of our work and future partnerships.
Like other Melbourne councils, we consider environmental performance when assessing planning permit applications within our City.
Sustainable design is now a requirement
Incorporating environmentally sustainable design into new development is now a requirement under the Whittlesea Planning Scheme (clause 15.01-2L environmentally sustainable development), introduced in October 2018. The policy's key objective is that development should achieve environmentally sustainable best practice from design through to construction and operation.
The policy provides objectives and application requirements for residential, mixed-use and non-residential development. It recognises the importance of considering environmentally sustainable design at the time of planning approval for new development.
Need some help?
We can help you incorporate environmentally sustainable design into your development during the planning process. If you're preparing a planning application, we encourage you to book a pre-application meeting or speak to our environmental sustainability planning officer to discuss your application.
Your application must be accompanied by either a Sustainable Design Assessment (SDA) or a Sustainability Management Plan (SMP) and Green Travel Plan (GTP).
Sustainable Design Assessment (SDA)
You'll need an SDA if your development fits these guidelines.
| Residential |
Non-residential |
- 2 - 9 dwellings
- Other accommodation between 100 - 1,000 m2
|
- New development or addition/extension between 300 - 1,000 m2
|
Sustainability Management Plan (SMP) and Green Travel Plan (GTP)
You'll need an SMP and GTP if your development fits these guidelines.
| Residential |
Non-residential |
- 10 or more dwellings
- Other accommodation more than 1,000 m2
|
- New development or addition/extension between 300 - 1,000 m2
|
Tools like BESS, Green Star, STORM and MUSIC may be used to assess how the proposed development addresses the policy objectives. You'll find more information about these in the ESD tools factsheet.
Download the ESD tools fact sheet(PDF, 398KB)
Our template for sustainable design assessment (SDA) provides a guide to the level of information we expect in an assessment document.
Download the SDA template(DOCX, 235KB)
Sustainable Design Assessment in the Planning Process (SDAPP)
Learn more about sustainable design and the processes used to achieve it in the Sustainable Design Assessment in the Planning Process (SDAPP) Explained factsheet.
Download the SDAPP Explained factsheet(PDF, 383KB)
Sustainability information to include with your planning permit application
When applying for a planning permit to construct a new building or altering an existing building, you'll need to provide additional information with your planning permit. This information demonstrates your consideration of a range of sustainability categories that affect developments. You'll find information on all of the sustainability categories in the next section of this page.
Our expectations are listed below each sustainability category to assist you in preparing your report, including:
- BESS: achieve a minimum score of 60% overall with a minimum of 50% across energy, water and indoor environment quality
- Green Star: demonstrate the development can achieve a four-star rating with a minimum of 50 points.
We've adopted a series of detailed factsheets to assist you in considering each sustainability category across your planned development.
These factsheets provide background information, design guidance and best practice standards across the 10 key sustainability categories relevant to your development. They're also used by other Victorian councils.
You'll find these factsheets under each sustainability category on the next page.
The Sustainable Design Fact Sheets are a series of information sheets to support your planned development. These factsheets outline Best Practice Standards and offer sustainable design advice across a range of sustainable development categories. The Council Alliance for a Sustainable Built Environment (CASBE) maintains these fact sheets on behalf of CASBE member councils, including the City of Whittlesea.
The following fact sheets are available:
In addition to the individual factsheets above, a summary of the Best Practice Standards and Council's design advice is also available.
Find some useful tips for solar and energy savings.
The Sustainable Subdivisions Framework seeks to mitigate the impacts of future climate projection scenarios, creating sustainable and liveable subdivisions that can adapt to the changing climate. The framework identifies seven categories that can assist in creating environmentally sustainable subdivisions:
- site layout and liveability
- streets and public realm
- energy
- ecology
- integrated water management (IWM)
- urban heat
- circular economy (materials and waste).
Each category includes objectives and measurable standards to facilitate stronger sustainability outcomes and apply innovation and implementation considerations to all categories.
City of Whittlesea Sustainable Subdivisions Framework trial
Along with local government partners, we tested the Sustainable Subdivisions Framework across the planning processes for 18 months from October 2020 to March 2022.
We worked with applicants to assess subdivision applications greater than three lots against the Sustainable Subdivisions Framework. The take-up of sustainability recommendations during the trial was voluntary but highly encouraged.
Through this process, we aimed to understand the development community’s willingness to adopt voluntary recommendations while at the same time gaining detailed feedback on the framework.
We invite you to discuss opportunities to apply the framework to your project/subdivision applications.
biodiversityplanning@whittlesea.vic.gov.au
03 9217 2170
For detailed information about the framework, visit the Council Alliance for a Sustainable Built Environment (CASBE) website.
The CASBE site offers an extensive library of resources, including a copy of the framework, sample submission requirements and a series of case studies.
If you’d like to learn more about our ESD policies and how your development plans can meet our requirements, please call us on 03 9217 2170 or contact us online.