Select a language from the below list to translate this page.
For help with translation, visit our support page.
Shaping the future of the Western Plains South Green Wedge
The Western Plains South Green Wedge is a unique part of Wyndham, made up of open plains, waterways, rural land and important cultural and environmental features. It plays a key role in shaping how our city looks, feels and grows.
We have prepared a Landscape Character Assessment to better understand what makes this area special and how it should be protected and managed into the future. We’re inviting the community to review the findings and share feedback before the next stage of planning begins.
Your feedback will be reviewed and reported back to Council. The finalised Landscape Character Assessment will then be used to inform the draft Western Plains South Green Wedge Management Plan, which will be open for your feedback next year.
Share your feedback before 11:59PM Friday 27 March 2026 via the survey below or register to attend a drop in session here.
Overview
What is the Landscape Character Assessment?
The Landscape Character Assessment looks at the physical, environmental and cultural features of the Western Plains South Green Wedge. Key reccomendations relate to:
- Retaining and rehabilitating native vegetation, including grasslands and canopy trees, and protecting geological features like volcanic plains and rocky outcrops.
- Preserving key view corridors to landmarks such as the You Yangs, Port Phillip Bay, and Melbourne CBD skyline, identified through viewshed analysis.
- Identifying areas suitable for a potential Significant Landscape Overlay (SLO) to enhance planning controls.
- Promoting sustainable tourism and recreational opportunities, such as low-impact trails, that support landscape preservation.
- Encouraging agricultural uses, including market gardening, viticulture, aquaculture, and broadacre farming, aligned with Victorian Green Wedge policies.
- Using low-impact materials (e.g., muted colours, non-reflective finishes) and designs to minimise visual impacts of new developments.
Why this work matters
As Wyndham continues to grow, it’s important that development and land use change are carefully managed so the Green Wedge’s landscape qualities are protected.
The Landscape Character Assessment will help Council:
- Guide future planning decisions
- Protect significant landscapes and views
- Balance environmental protection with agriculture, tourism and recreation
- Inform the future Western Plains South Green Wedge Management Plan
Some recommendations may also influence future planning controls, such as identifying areas where additional landscape protection could apply.
Frequently Asked Questions
The LCA has been prepared to inform the drafting of Council’s upcoming Western Plains South Green Wedge Management Plan, consistent with State guidance including Planning for Melbourne’s Green Wedges and Agricultural Land Action Plan 2024.
The assessment identifies:
- Areas of distinct landscape character across the WPSGW
- Guidance on how growth, land use change and development can occur in a way that protects and enhances valued landscape, environmental and visual qualities
- Opportunities for sustainable development, productive land uses and investment that align with Victorian Green Wedge policies and initiatives
The project has been informed by:
- a viewshed analysis from strategically selected viewpoints
- background technical reporting
- extensive prior consultation undertaken for earlier WPSGW work
- relevant policy and research documentation
- stakeholder input associated with the WPSGW area
The Western Grassland Reserve covers a significant portion of the Western Plains South Green Wedge and is excluded from detailed assessment due to its state significance.
The Reserve is managed by the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA), with a long-term objective for public acquisition and conservation as part of a future national park.
While excluded from detailed assessment, the Reserve has been considered for its broader contextual contribution to the Western Plains South landscape character (refer Landscape Character Assessment, page 12).
Melton City Council adopted its Western Plains South Green Wedge Management Plan in 2024.
Wyndham City Council is preparing a separate Management Plan, as Green Wedge planning is undertaken on a municipal basis.
The research approach and structure of Melton’s Plan have informed Wyndham’s work to ensure consistency, recognising that landscape features extend across municipal boundaries (refer to LCA pages 23–24).
- Advocate – promoting the importance of Green Wedge protection through evidence- based planning and and decision-making with relevant stakeholders
- Partner – work with stakeholders such as DEECA, internal departments and industry groups to improve Green Wedge planning outcomes including investigating opportunities to further protect the area from inappropriate development
- Planner – applying local and State planning policy to ensure the Green Wedge is appropriately supported, managed and enhanced over time
The LCA includes a recommendation to investigate a Significant Landscape Overlay (SLO) for:
- Landscape Character Area 3 – Rural Living Grasslands Interface
- Landscape Character Area 6 – Werribee Riverine Corridor (refer to LCA pages 86–87)
It is important to note that:
- No new planning controls are being introduced as part of this consultation
- Any SLO would require a separate Planning Scheme Amendment, including extensive further consultation and formal public exhibition
- An SLO would apply only to future development or works, subject to permit requirements
The LCA also recommends non-statutory design guidance across the WPSGW, such as:
- Low-impact building colours and materials
- Vegetation retention and planting buffers
- Appropriate setbacks for sensitive development (refer to LCA pages 83–87
You can get involved in a number of different ways.
1. Attending a drop-in session - Register here to attend.
- Thursday 12 March, 4-7PM, Little River Mechanics Institute Hall, 8 Rothwell Rd, Little River
- Wednesday 18 March, 5:30-8PM, Manor Lakes Community Learning Centre, 86 Manor Lakes Blvd, Manor Lakes
Both sessions will cover the same information and give you a chance to ask questions and learn more about the project.
2. Providing feedback via the online survey.
3. Submitting feedback directly to strategicplanning@wyndham.vic.gov.au
- Identification and prioritisation of key landscapes and view corridors, including views to landmarks such as the You Yangs, Port Phillip Bay and local rural vistas
- Implementation priorities and staging, helping Council understand where effort should be focused over time across the WPSGW
- Management directions and recommended actions, including guidance on appropriate design responses, vegetation protection and land management practices
- Opportunities for sustainable tourism, recreation and agriculture, ensuring these uses align with community expectations and landscape protection objectives
- Refinement of landscape character descriptions and boundaries, including confirmation of locally valued features, views and place-based characteristics
- The application and scope of recommended planning tools, such as areas proposed for SLO
Community feedback will not determine individual planning permit decisions or rezoning of land. All outcomes must remain consistent with State planning policy, the Planning and Environment Act 1987 and Council’s statutory responsibilities.
Council will report on the feedback provided from community across this engagement.
If endorsed, the LCA will be used to inform the draft WPSGW Management Plan being developed throughout 2026.
Council will continue to work with key stakeholders involved across the Western Plains South Green Wedge.
Community will again be offered the opportunity to provide feedback.
Map
Landscape Character Assessment Map
The WPSGW has a total area of 31,618ha, stretching across Wyndham and Melton councils. This Assessment focuses on the 20,331ha located within Wyndham, interfacing Melton City to the north, the City of Greater Geelong to the west, and Moorabool Shire to the north-west.
The proposed Western Grassland Reserve (in the Rural Conservation Zone - RCZ) is outside the scope of the Western Plains South Green Wedge Management Plan. However, the Landscape Character Assessment considers interface issues and connections associated with these areas.
