Strategic Plans and Policies

The Community Infrastructure Plan (CIP)(PDF, 7MB) will guide how we plan and invest in community infrastructure over the next 15 years. It will also ensure that our residents can access services, facility spaces and places where and when they are needed most.

The CIP is intended to guide Council’s actions for community infrastructure and associated service delivery, including specific infrastructure responses within different parts of Hume. It will be closely monitored and updated when Council Service Plans are updated or in response to major changes in the forecast population within an area

The Housing Diversity Strategy(PDF, 12MB) is an important plan for Council and the community, to ensure there is a home for everyone in Hume in the future. 

The Strategy sets out a 20-year plan for the established areas of Hume, to: 

• Direct new housing to the most appropriate locations
• Increase choice and diversity of housing, including affordable housing 
• Facilitate well designed and sustainable housing.

The community were invited to provide feedback on a draft Strategy in August-September 2020. More than 100 community members completed surveys or written submissions. This feedback was considered and, where appropriate, changes were made. 

The final Housing Diversity Strategy(PDF, 12MB) was adopted by Council on 22 June 2020. 

The release of the draft Strategy was followed by rapid changes to how we all function in the context of COVID-19 and we have now reviewed the engagement program for the Strategy. We are not able to hold face-to-face community drop-in sessions for the draft Rural Strategy due to State and Federal Government social distancing provisions at this time. 

Council has released a draft Rural Strategy(PDF, 6MB) that offers a vision for Hume’s rural areas for Council and the community to work towards over the next 20-years. 

Feedback from the community to date and further research has identified the significant challenges for Hume’s rural areas now and into the future such as: 

• Relatively poor quality soil and a lack of rainfall worsened by the affects of climate change
• Ongoing land speculation
• The viability of traditional agriculture
• An aging and changing rural population.

To address the challenges and realise a positive future for Hume’s rural areas a partnership approach is required between all levels of government and the community. 

The draft Rural Strategy encompasses three themes that reflect a holistic, partnership approach: 

• Certainty – the draft Strategy aims to provide certainty on the role, and on the future planning for the rural areas, particularly future urban development and subdivision, to assist the rural community to make investments with greater confidence. 
• Support – the draft Strategy sets out how landowners will be supported to continue to pursue current activities, diversify into new activities, maximise opportunities associated with a growing urban population and to effectively manage land. 
• Engagement – the draft Strategy sets out how landowners will be supported to inform the rural community of potential future changes and to grow community connectedness and capacity to realise future opportunities and to manage challenges 

Council is now seeking to hear from the community about this vision for the rural areas, as well as the strategies for how Council will better support and engage with the rural landowners and the rural community to realise this vision.  

You can provide feedback or ask questions using Hume's Draft Rural Strategy page. 

Sunbury HIGAP is Council’s strategy that will shape the future planning for the growth of Sunbury over the coming 30 years. 

The township of Sunbury has been identified by State Government for major growth over the next 30 years and could grow from a township of approximately 35,000 to over 100,000 people.  

A Spatial Strategy(PDF, 2MB) and Delivery and Infrastructure Strategy(PDF, 785KB) were adopted by Council on 9th July 2012 and outline what changes are preferred in Sunbury to enable sustainable growth. 

The Sunbury HIGAP Strategies outline: 

• What the Sunbury township is like now and how it should change.
• How Sunbury's unique qualities and character should be managed.
• What, where and when new development should occur including new areas of housing and employment, new areas of open space.
• What, where and when new infrastructure is required to support growth and meet the needs of existing and future communities.
• Recommendations for further work that will continue to guide change in Sunbury. 

One of the main objectives of the Hume Integrated Land Use and Transport Strategy (HILATS)(PDF, 10MB) adopted in 2011 is to encourage cycling for local transport and recreation trips by providing safe, connected and enjoyable cycling environments.

In order to achieve this, HILATS recognises the need to develop a continuous, direct and legible local bicycle network to link Hume residents to key destinations such as activity centres, schools, employment areas, recreation facilities and public transport nodes.

Council has developed a Bicycle Network Plan(PDF, 5MB)  to define a comprehensive cycling network of off-road and on-road paths that provides a range of routes to suit different cycling needs. The Plan was adopted by Council on the 9th February 2015.

The strategy aims to:

• Identify and develop a comprehensive municipal-wide Bicycle Network Plan for Hume that connects residential areas with key destinations and the wider regional cycling network.
• Identify the priority cycling routes to inform Council’s capital works program and future grant applications in order to deliver bicycle infrastructure.
• Provide an update to the Walking and Cycling Strategy Implementation Plan.
• Inform the designation of an on-road bicycle network in areas to be redeveloped and subject to future road reconstructions.
• Identify the required locations for cycling support facilities in the municipality.