A boulevard of large trees similar to Raglan Parade's double row of Norfolk Island Pines will welcome people to Warrnambool's east under plans mooted by the city council.
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The idea is included in a structure plan which is headed to a state planning panel after a number of concerns were raised about what the council had planned for the future use of east Warrnambool.
The plan, which was originally released in 2016, includes traffic lights outside Harvey Norman and Deakin University, an upgrade of Dales Road and widening of Horne Road to 10 metres.
It also includes plans for more land to be set aside for office space behind Bunnings and Harvey Norman, and a new residential suburb on land along Dales Road.
Plans to realign the Princes Highway between Deakin University and the Flying Horse Inn would mean acquiring land to accommodate a wider median strip for two rows of large trees and realignment of the north lane.
The Department of Transport said in its submission it would have no objection provided the council paid to maintain the area if tree roots damaged the road.
It also raised concerns about visibility and the possibility of collisions. It noted these could be addressed but it would be costly.
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"The detrimental impact of tree plantings is evident along other existing sections of the highway within Warrnambool," the report says.
Cr Mike Neoh said while the vision was for a boulevard of trees similar to that along Raglan Parade, it hadn't been determined what kind of trees would be used.
The plan also allows for a pedestrian link following the railway line between Deakin University and the CBD.
Glynbeudy Street, next to Harvey Norman, has been identified as a key entry to the Eastern Area Precinct and would be extended to link up with Horne Road.
Those plans include the potential for a set of traffic lights on the highway which intersects with a planned extension of the residential area east which would link Reginald Grove with Raglan Parade.
The plan also allows for a four-way intersection at Aitken Drive at the entrance to Deakin Uni if farm land on the north of the highway was developed in the future.
The vision for the Eastern Activity Precinct is to ensure a more coherent and integrated use for land in east Warrnambool - providing a mix of retail, bulky goods, offices and housing.
There were six submissions received to council's planning scheme amendment to its Eastern Activity Precinct Structure Plan.
Councillors have voted to refer the submissions to an independent planning panel appointed by the Minister for Planning because of the wide-range of issues raised.
Cr Neoh said the structure plan was a high-level plan or mud map of council's vision for any future development of the area.
He said it would give more certainty to developers and owners of the land on what council was thinking about what could be developed.
Much of the land is privately owned and there are no immediate moves to rezone, but the structure plan is a policy framework which would offer some guidelines if it did go to development.
The panel is expected to sit on December 11 and 12, a directions hearing will be held on November 7.
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