Action 1.1 - Develop township identity and character

Establish design guidelines to support revitalisation of the town centre and encourage pedestrian focused movement. Establish a strong connection to place through celebrating the Indigenous and European history of the area. Explore opportunities to develop the town identity in partnership with young people with a focus on community art projects.

Action 1.2 – Natural environment

Continue to celebrate and protect our natural assets, such as the Yarra River, ensuring balanced planning and development of the township that is sensitive to the natural environment and considers Environmentally Sustainable Design.

Action 1.3 - Promotion of service centre

Identify and promote community services and groups in the Upper Yarra, to ensure the community understands the services available to them. Support community events that promote health and wellbeing services, creative industries, and local business.

Action 1.4 – Sustainable development

Explore opportunities to increase housing diversity in the activity centre, ensuring that preservation of the natural environment is balanced with community needs in planning & development. Promote engagement opportunities for the local community on the Green Wedge Management Plan Review. Include design guidelines for built form and streetscapes that can be translated into Planning Scheme controls and updates.

Action 2.1 - Prioritise pedestrian movement

Prioritise pedestrian movement in the centre of the township with a focus on accessibility, safety and traffic management. Identify and deliver missing connections to the pedestrian network. Advocate to State Government for the addition of pedestrian crossings and traffic conditioning treatments to increase pedestrian safety.

Action 2.2 - Road maintenance & safety

Complete a traffic safety review of the activity centre and respond to identified safety hot spots with lighting, turning lanes, pedestrian crossings, and traffic conditioning treatments. Introduction of longer lasting maintenance treatments on local roads.

Action 2.3 - Transport reliability and safety

Partner with the State Government to develop innovative solutions that increase local access to, frequency and safety of public transport. Explore the opportunity for local transport services such as a Flexi Bus network.

Action 2.4 - Road network improvements

Explore a local network solution that provides alternate transport routes for large trucks and through traffic to move congestion out of the main activity centre and can alleviate traffic pressure during events and emergencies.

Action 2.5 - Parking

Develop a Yarra Junction Parking and Traffic Strategy that identifies adequate accessible and short-term parking solutions in the heart of the activity centre, and identifies a program of short, medium and long term projects for delivery.

Action 3.1 – Community infrastructure

Complete a community infrastructure review and consider the consolidation of community facilities. Establish design guidelines that include a focus on accessibility, integration of services, resilience and intergenerational spaces.

Action 3.2 – Township Design Framework

Development of a Township Design Framework, responding to the identified priorities in the Place Plan. This framework will interrogate design of built form, public realm and movement, providing a clear design intent for the township that can be used for attracting funding for individual projects.

Action 3.3 - Positive activation of public spaces

Identify design solutions and a series of projects to be delivered, that focus on reimagining public spaces to encourage positive activation through sensitive development, landscaping, public art, and lighting. Develop accessible community spaces that support a diverse range of community activities that are inclusive to all abilities and ages.

Action 3.4 - Youth focused public spaces

In partnership with young people, plan the development of youth focused spaces and potential youth activations to encourage positive relationships with the spaces.

Action 4.1 - Health & support services

Advocate for a strengthened local healthcare network benefiting all community members in Yarra Junction and surrounding townships. Providing comprehensive care, including medical, social, and emergency services as well as homelessness, mental health & substance abuse supports. Focusing on filling gaps in service provision and improving cross-service referrals.

Action 4.2 - Emergency resilience

Encourage emergency resilience in community by ensuring ongoing support to community preparedness programs and planning resilient community infrastructure focusing on communication and accessibility.

Advocate to local authorities for increased visible presence in the activity centre.

Action 4.3 – Township group

Support community in the development of a Township Group with representatives from community groups, clubs, businesses, Council, agencies and schools, that can ensure strong communication within the township and work together with a shared vision.

Action 4.4 - Youth focused support & initiatives

Develop youth focused community spaces in partnership with young people, while working with agencies to encourage youth focused programs to support out-of-school supervision, development opportunities and safety.

Action 5.1 - Balanced tourism development

Support balanced tourism development including exploring ways to increase visitation from the users of the trails network. Explore funding opportunities to develop a business case for the introduction of a visitor information centre, which may include social enterprise or maker spacers to support the development of local industry.

Action 5.2 - Industry Development

Support retention of areas of industrial land for the development of local light industry. Encourage the development of small business and industry through small business grants, maker spaces or workspaces.

Action 5.3 - Development of the retail/hospitality sector

Encourage the revitalisation of the retail and hospitality sector, ensuring a focus on pedestrian movement and accessibility in the activity centre and encouraging public spaces that invite positive activation and build township character through outdoor dining, public art and lighting solutions.

Action 5.4 - Opportunities for young people

In partnership with young people, explore opportunities to respond to barriers keeping young adults from staying in Yarra Junction, including diversity in training and employment opportunities, lack of nightlife and public transport options.