Industrial Land Management Strategy and Design Guidelines
Background
Council has prepared a Draft Industrial Land Management Strategy (ILMS) to provide land use policy direction in Hobsons Bay’s industrial precinct over the next 15 years. To support the draft strategy, Council has also prepared Draft Industrial Design Guidelines (IDG) that outline preferred site layout and urban design outcomes in industrial areas.
The Draft ILMS and IDG are proposed to replace the 2008 versions.
Reimagining our Industrial Areas
The Reimagining our Industrial Areas project was the first step in the review of the ILMS 2008.
The Reimagining our Industrial Areas project produced a 'Statement of Opportunity' document to help shape the future of our key industrial precincts and set a new policy direction.
Find out more about this project here.
ILMS and IDG project status
Consultation on the draft strategy(PDF, 3MB) and design guidelines(PDF, 3MB) was undertaken over a six-week period from 22 May until 2 July 2023. Further consultation was undertaken from 14 August to 11 September 2024. Since this consultation, new state government policies have been released, planning reforms have been implemented and the Hobsons Bay industrial landscape has changed.
Most recently, the state government has updated the Special Used Zones (3 and 4) in Altona and Altona North via Amendment C146hbay. The intent of this initiative was to unlock industrial land for different types of development and transition away from petrochemical uses. Council advocated for the outcomes of the draft ILMS and IDG to be included within this state-led amendment. Details of this advocacy work can be found in the Council reports from 1 July 2025 and 18 November 2025 respectively. These resolutions reaffirmed Council’s conditional support for the state-led rezoning, subject to the application of appropriate local planning controls, particularly the Environmental Significance Overlay (ESO) and Design and Development Overlay (DDO) to manage the protection of native grasslands and establish high-quality design standards for future development respectively.
On 17 February 2026, Amendment C146hbay was gazetted and became operational in the Hobsons Bay Planning Scheme. The Hobsons Bay Planning Scheme has now been updated to include a revised Special Use Zone - Schedule 3 (SUZ3) and Special Use Zone - Schedule 4 (SUZ4), and an Environmental Audit Overlay (EAO) applied to the entirety of these zones.
Despite advocacy work, an ESO and DDO did not form part of the final amendment. Council officers will now need to consider this as part of the implementation of the draft ILMS and IDG.
The state government is also proposing to rezone industrial land in Brooklyn (east of Millers Road) from Industrial 1 Zone (IN1Z) to Industrial 3 Zone (IN3Z) via Amendment GC276. The intent of this initiative is to support the relocation of container businesses from Brooklyn as part of the West Gate Tunnel opening and the introduction of heavy vehicle curfews on local roads. Council officers are advocating for the outcomes of the draft ILMS and IDG to be included within this state-led rezoning.
Community consultation on Amendment GC276 commenced on 16 February 2026 and will close on13 March 2026. Refer to the Engage Victoria website for further details on the amendment and to have your say.
It is anticipated that the draft documents will be updated and presented to Council for consideration and adoption in mid 2026.
A planning scheme amendment will be required to implement the Draft ILMS and IDG into the Hobsons Bay Planning Scheme. Further consultation with community and key stakeholders will occur as part of this planning scheme amendment.
Related documents – 2008 versions
Industrial Land Management Strategy 2008(PDF, 1MB)
Industrial Development Design Guidelines(PDF, 520KB)