Sustainable Hill
Definition
Sustainability on Doncaster Hill is about providing innovative,
accessible, adaptable and technically advanced development
that caters for the environmental, social and economic needs
of our society, both now and in the future.
It is about development meeting the needs of the present
without compromising the ability of future generations to
meet their own needs.
The aim of sustainable development on the Hill is to create
buildings that provide:
- Lower operating costs for residents
- Increased occupant comfort
- Improved accessibility
- Higher perceived value due to the occupant and environmental
benefits
- Reduced sprawl
- Protection and enhancement of the natural and built environment.
Why do we need a sustainable focus?
Doncaster Hill is part of Manningham City Council’s
ongoing commitment to moving towards a sustainable future,
with a vision for an urban village with high environmental
standards for the occupant, visitor and worker.
Doncaster Hill will move away from the use of conventional
planning, design and construction methods, which often have
a negative environmental impact, through excessive resource
consumption, waste generation and pollution. Buildings are
also more expensive to operate and often potentially harmful
for the people living and working in them, when sustainable
design is not considered.
Instead, use of non-toxic material, passive solar designs,
re-use of grey water (ie from kitchens and laundries), natural
thermal insulation and irrigation recycling are some of the
examples of the high standard of sustainability set for developers
and users of Doncaster Hill.
This approach also delivers significant cost savings associated
with building to developers and environmentally friendly buildings
for future residents, visitors and workers.
A sustainable Doncaster Hill will be a healthier and more
accessible place to live, visit and work – and will
put less pressure on the environment too.
Achieving sustainability
How will This Be Achieved?
Council is advocating sustainable development for Doncaster
Hill through three main mechanisms:
- Planning scheme policies contained in the Manningham
Planning Scheme;
- The Doncaster Hill Sustainability Guidelines, June 2004;
and
- The Sustainable Design Taskforce.
Planning policy
Doncaster Hill Activity Centre Sustainability
Management Plan Policy (Clause 22.13)
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Manningham was the first local government in Australia to
successfully implement ESD policy into its planning scheme.
This means the ESD element of the Doncaster Hill Strategy
can now enforce sustainability and high technological environmental
requirements on buildings and surrounding areas.
The policy requires applicants for new use and development
in the Doncaster Hill Activity Centre to prepare a Sustainability
Management Plan as the means of documenting and delivering
sustainable outcomes.
It incorporates the 8 key performance areas and objectives
from the Doncaster Hill Strategy (Part C), October 2002. These
objectives are:
- Energy Management: Achieve new benchmarks
in energy conservation and increase use of renewable energy
sources
- Water Conservation & Re-Use: Achieve
best practice water sensitive urban design that offers an
alternative to the traditional approach to water management
- External Building Materials: Minimise
the environmental impacts of input and output materials
as well as any material used in the external construction
and development of buildings and works
- Interior Materials Analysis: Achieve
healthy internal building environments
- Waste Minimisation & Avoidance: Reduce
waste generated by building occupants that is collected,
hauled to and disposed of in landfills
- Quality of Private & Public Realms:
Achieve design excellence in the built, natural and cultural
environments
- Integrated Traffic & Transport Management:
Minimise overall environmental impacts from movement and
transportation of people, materials, equipment and systems
- Construction & Demolition Management:
Minimise environmental impacts associated with site construction
practices
Doncaster Hill Sustainability
Guidelines
Manningham City Council, together with DesignInc, produced
a set of guidelines that aim to assist development applicants
with their Sustainability Management Plans (SMP). The Doncaster
Hill Sustainability Guidelines (June 2004)) further assist
in the implementation of sustainable building practices, furthering
the Doncaster Hill concept from research and policy development
to practical advice that details how sustainability can be
achieved.
They outline numerous leading edge techniques that constitute
world best practice in the theory and practice of sustainable
design and construction. They demonstrate the benefits of
sustainability and the processes that can be adopted by the
development sector to achieve better living conditions.
A comprehensive number of resources, including publications
and websites, are also enclosed to assist applicants and the
community to locate further information on sustainability.
Sustainable Design Taskforce
The Sustainable Design Taskforce is an advisory body established
by Manningham City Council that consists of Council appointed
members, Council representatives and external, independent
advisors including architects, urban designers and environmental
consultants.
The Taskforce is designed to establish a partnership approach
that facilitates and fosters the exchange of ideas, providing
feedback to both Council and the developer regarding a proposed
development. This includes disseminating information, knowledge
and expertise in the fields of statutory planning, urban design,
sustainability, accessibility and other related issues.
The Sustainable Design Taskforce does not replace Council
as the decision-making authority.
Smart
Energy Zone
Manningham Council and Sustainability Victoria (SV) are working
together to prepare a sustainable energy 'road map', to develop
Doncaster Hill as a Smart
Energy Zone.
Smart Energy Zones demonstrate how communities can cut their
greenhouse emissions with a combination of local energy solutions,
that integrate demand and supply side technologies for multiple
building sites.
The vision for Doncaster Hill's Smart Energy Zone is to create
an internationally recognised urban environment that embraces
total sustainability in terms of energy, water, transport,
built environment and landscape.
Funding from Sustainability Vicotoria ($515,000) and the
Federal Department of Energy, Water, Heritage and the Arts
Green Precincts Fund ($1.5 million) will support the delivery
of a leading redevelopment of the Civic Precinct incorporating
the principles of a Smart Energy Zone and Water Sensitive
City.
The new Community Centre within the Civic
Precinct will be designed and operated to 5-star Green
Star and NABERS standards.
The main feature of the Doncaster Hill Smart Energy Zone
will be an energy efficient trigeneration facility in the
Civic Precinct Community Hub building. It will supply heating,
cooling and power to the existing Civic Offices and the Community
Centre via a microgrid, and a sustainability education hub,
co-located with the library will provide educational opportunities.
Water initiatives
In 2008 Council signed a Memorandum of Understanding with
Yarra Valley Water and Melbourne Water, and have since completed
an integrated water servicing study for Doncaster Hill.
A project is now being undertaken that will see Doncaster
Hill become the first Activity Centre in Melbourne to implement
a recycled water program that will allow residents of new
apartments within the Hill to access Class A recycled water
from a treatment plant.
It will be the first time a system and treatment plant have
been introduced into an established urban setting, and the
project will put Doncaster Hill at the forefront of sustainable
water solutions.
The two organisations have developed guidelines that provide
certainty for developers seeking approval and at the same
time improve the environmental credentials of future development
in Doncaster Hill.
Doncaster Hill Water Plan Information Pack (DHWIP)
Council has developed a Doncaster Hill Water Information
Pack to provide furter guidance on the options that developers
have to implement sustainable water management solutions for
their development. It complies with Council's environmental
and engineering requirements and complement the provision
of recycled water by Yarra Valley Water.
The DHWIP offers a number of different strategies that a
development can employ to better manage stormwater within
their development footprint, as well as providing some 'rule
of thumb' design guidance, tips on where more information
can be found and a number of visual examples of what is possible
through considered and integrated design.
Third pipe initiative
Doncaster Hill is the first Activity Centre in Melbourne
to introduce an innovative project to make recycled water
available for future residents of the Hill. Manningham City
Council is working with Yarra Valley Water to develop the
project, which will see residents of new apartments in Doncaster
Hill being able to access Class A recycled water from a treatment
plant.
Council, Yarra Valley Water and Melbourne Water completed
an integrated water servicing study for Doncaster Hill, which
looked at a range of different options for managing water
supply, sewerage and stormwater, including mandated levels
of water efficiency, greater use of rainwater, recycled water
supply and the management of stormwater to reduce pollution
impacts on local waterways and Port Phillip Bay. The study
concluded that a local source of recycled water provided an
environmentally responsible additional water source that is
suitable for a range of uses including toilet, laundry and
outdoor use.
Yarra Valley Water is working with Council to develop consistent
guidelines which will provide certainty for developers seeking
approval, while at the same time improving the environmental
credentials of future development in Doncaster Hill.
The Pinnacle, at 632 Doncaster Road, The Madison, at 91 Tram
Road, and the affordable housing project at 99 Roam will be
the first developments to install a dedicated third pipe to
carry recycled water into the buildings.
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