The Have Your Say phase of consultation on Carlisle Street closes on Monday 26 May. After this deadline there will be a round of community workshops in a few months. Interested people are urged to register their interest in participation by this deadline.
TWiSK: Who gets a seat at the workshops and how will they work?
Chris Carroll: Anyone interested in the Carlisle Street Activity Centre can register through Council’s Have Your Say page, and we expect everyone who registers will be able to attend. The workshops will bring together residents, traders, property owners and other stakeholders to test development scenarios for the supermarket sites, share local knowledge and help shape Council’s position on future planning outcomes.
TWiSK: When will they happen?
Chris Carroll: Council expects the workshops to run in late August or early September, with final dates still to be confirmed.
TWiSK: Should people register now, and will there be more chances to have a say?
Chris Carroll: Yes. Registering now means people will receive updates about the project and the workshops. There will also be another round of engagement when Coles formally brings forward a proposal under the Memorandum of Understanding, which Council has already published online (scroll to page 124 and then page 126 for the decision)
TWiSK: Is the Coles sale MOU part of this engagement phase?
Chris Carroll: The sale terms are not part of the current consultation. Council resolved at its 24 September 2025 meeting to sell the land to Coles Group Property Development Ltd and authorised me to finalise the contractual documents, including the Section 173 Agreement and the MoU. Those arrangements are now being completed, so the current engagement is about possible development outcomes for the site – not the commercial terms of the deal.
TWiSK: So how can residents still have real influence?
Chris Carroll: The next key opportunity will come when a Coles development proposal is formally lodged and released for community feedback. In the meantime, Council says the current engagement will help shape its broader vision for the redevelopment of the Coles and Woolworths sites, including priorities such as public space, traffic management and development quality. Beyond that, a new structure plan for Carlisle Street and surrounding areas is due in 2027, covering housing, shops, jobs, open space, heritage, building heights and transport.
TWiSK says: It’s expected that the Coles redevelopment decision will ultimately be made by the State Minister for Planning under Victoria’s planning law.
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