Liam McNally
A major town centre for Aintree, with a shopping centre about the size of Woodgrove, is edging closer with council preparing to put the draft Urban Design Framework (UDF) out for public consultation.
A UDF is a planning and design document that sets out a vision for an area and guides its land use and development over time, and will guide council for decisions such as planning applications.
The UDF for Aintree plans for a new Major Town Centre that covers approximately 50 hectares of land in the area immediately north-east of the intersection of Leakes Road and Beattys Road.
The area is planned to include retail, commercial and community facilities that will provide residents with local employment opportunities and easy access to a range of facilities and services.
Melton council principal strategic planner Matthew Milbourne said the UDF seeks to create a retail core for the Aintree area.
“It also contains office and commercial uses, has high density residential areas, three town squares and urban plazas, two civic and community precincts and also delivers options for the early delivery of a library,” he said.
“It also contains two parks and provides detail on any area subject to flooding and how that may be developed into the future.”
The UDF divides the area into four main precincts with different preferred land uses. The ‘gateway’ area along Leakes Road for large format retail premises, indoor recreation, manufacturing sales, offices and emergency services.
The town centre is split into two precincts, the ‘Town Centre Heart’ will be for a broad range of retail, food and entertainment, as well as urban plazas and apartments. The wider ‘Town Centre’ will include similar retail and entertainment options, with more room for local parks.
The fourth precinct, along the south and east sides of the UDF area, will be residential.
Development company Woodlea owns about two-thirds of the area the town centre will be built on.
Mr Milbourne said council will work with the Woodlea to provide information on when the precinct will be delivered, and what retail shops will be delivered during community consultation.
The draft is intended to be released for stakeholder engagement in October.
