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Colac Civic Health and Rail Precinct

Council, in partnership with the Department of Land Water and Planning (DELWP), Colac Area Health (CAH), Department of Transport and VicTrack, have commenced work on a Precinct Plan for the Colac Civic, Health and Rail Precinct.

The development of a coordinated plan for the area is necessary to ensure that the precinct continues to meet the needs of the community and its key occupants, including Colac Area Health and government agencies into the future.

The project is underpinned by recognition that the precinct development and activities are conducted upon the land of the Gulidjan and Gadubanud peoples, as the traditional owners of the Colac Otway region.

A core objective of the project is to ensure that the Plan respects their cultural heritage, beliefs and values, and upholds their continuing relationship to this land.

Need for the Project

Previous work through the Colac 2050 Growth Plan, has identified the need for Master Plans to be prepared for a number of sites in the precinct, including COPACC, the Colac Hospital, and the Train Station.

The Colac CBD and Entrances Project makes specific recommendations for improvements to landscape quality, built form, streetscapes and open spaces within the precinct.

The Colac Community Infrastructure Plan 2016 identified that expansion of COPACC and more community meeting and working spaces are required to cater for existing and future demand.

Rather than prepare individual Master Plans, the Precinct Plan will integrate the projects into a single plan, addressing all identified themes and opportunities.

Project Deliverables

At completion, the project will deliver the following outputs:

A plan for the precinct (The Precinct Plan) addressing parking, access, transport, servicing/infrastructure, landscape/public spaces, built form and broad land uses.
A Master Plan for the hospital precinct, addressing parking, access, future health facilities and built form.
Concept Design Plans for the future redevelopment of COPACC, Council’s offices and other development within the civic area.

Precinct Opportunities

Previous planning work has identified a number of key opportunities, which will be further explored throughout the project:

Enabling Colac Area Health to continue to meet the growing needs for clinical services in the region. Part of this work will investigate how improvements to parking and access can be achieved around the hospital and medical precinct.
Analysis to consider options for consolidating state government offices (including Parks Victoria and DELWP), currently located elsewhere in Colac, and some emergency service functions such as a dedicated Incident Control Centre (ICC), alongside the existing Council offices.
Accommodate and support a range of community groups and interests within the precinct. Community uses are key to ensuring the ongoing success of the precinct as a cultural draw-card, therefore opportunities to enhance participation and presence are a very important focus of the project.
Opportunities to transform COPACC from a venue for viewing the arts, to one that enables both viewing and participation. Consideration of upgrades that would enable a wider range of programs to be performed and exhibited across disciplines, including cinema, theatre and visual arts.
Improvement to access and parking around the train station, particularly for the aged and those with special access requirements, whilst respecting the heritage values of the buildings and former turntable.
Parking improvements throughout the precinct as a whole, including public parking and options to accommodate Council and Emergency Services fleet parking.
Exploring options to redevelop surplus land, such as that around the train station and rail area, and the former hardware building adjoining Corangamite Street.
Opportunities to improve the recreational appeal of the precinct, such as refreshing and improving the Old Beechy Rail Trail throughout its alignment within the precinct area, creation of shared paths, landscaping to achieve the vision for Colac as a “Botanic City” and improved public spaces.

Participate in the Project

Council has sought input from stakeholders, community groups and individuals into the vision for the Colac Civic Health and Rail Precinct Plan, with visioning workshops having been held in early November 2021.

A follow-up survey was also conducted in November 2021, to which a broad range of high quality responses were received. A summary of the workshop and survey responses is contained in the attached link: Civic Project Survey Responses

The feedback received from the community and stakeholders will now be used to inform the preparation of a number of options for the precinct, with that work currently underway. Once the draft options are prepared, additional community workshops will be held to review the options, to hear views and any further ideas.

Due to the changing COVID-19 environment, dates of the workshop have not yet been determined. To pre-register your attendance at the workshops, and to receive an invitation once the dates are set, please contact inq@colacotway.vic.gov.au. For those who registered for the prior workshop; there is no need to register again.

Questions and comments are welcome at any stage of the project, and can be forwarded via email to inq@colacotway.vic.gov.au or by phoning Council on (03) 5232 9400.