Winchelsea Greening and Stormwater Treatment

Completion Date31 October 2025

Information reviewed July 2025

Council endorsed a Winchelsea Integrated Water Management Plan in 2019, after an engagement process with the local community.

The plan aligns with and supports Growing Winchelsea’s community vision for the town.

The ‘Winchelsea Greening and Stormwater Treatment’ project is an outcome from this plan.

It will involve planting 33 trees on nature strips along Hesse and Armytage Streets in Winchelsea, each with their own drainage system that feeds into the existing drainage line on the streets.

The project aims to:

Create greener and cooler streets, contributing to a better place to live;
Improve stormwater quality discharging to the Barwon River; and
Reduce the amount of water draining into the river, helping to reduce erosion on the riverbank.

How the system will work

Each tree will be installed with its own drainage system directly underneath.

Stormwater will run off the street, into the drainage system under each tree.

This will mean the tree is watered (enabling it to stay healthy), and that stormwater is both filtered as it passes through, and reduced in volume before it runs into the main drainage line.

The outcome of this will be less water draining into the Barwon River – reducing erosion on the riverbank – while the water that does drain into the river will be of a higher quality.

The other aspect of the project is the installation of a gross pollutant trap (GPT) on the south side of Main Street, close to the Barwon Hotel.

This will catch street litter, stopping it from entering the drainage system and running into the river.

Benefits

The benefits of this approach are:

The location of the trees immediately above the drainage system will provide a healthy growing environment for trees, offering the right volume and moisture content of soil.
The stormwater system will reduce reliance on other water supplies for irrigation.
The project will help reduce the ‘urban heat island effect’ on the streets. (Urban areas experience higher temperatures than natural or rural environments because built features such as roads absorb and retain more heat. Trees help reduce this effect.)
The project will contribute to improved liveability, bringing wellbeing benefits for residents.
Reducing the volume of water flowing into the river aims to address the issue of erosion of the river bank.

Tree locations

The map below shows where each of the 33 trees will be planted.

This design has been influenced by feedback from Hesse and Armytage Street residents gathered during 2024.

Tree species

The 33 trees will be Urbanite Ash.

This species was carefully chosen based on its:

suitability as a street tree;
resilience to local conditions; and
low attractiveness to Corellas and Cockatoos.

Funding

We have received funding from the Victorian Government’s Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action to deliver this project.

We are thankful to the government for this assistance.

Frequently asked questions

When will the work take place and will access to my street and home be impacted?

Work is planned to begin mid-August and finish by the end of October.

There may be some temporary impacts to access during the works. However, Council will work closely with the appointed contractor to minimise disruption and ensure that residents always retain access to their driveways and properties.

Maintaining access and safety for the community is a key priority throughout the project.

I don’t want a tree planted in front of my house. Do I have a choice?

The location of each tree has been carefully planned to maintain clear sightlines for driveways and intersections, and to preserve as much on-street parking as possible.

While we have updated the designs where possible to take previous resident feedback into account, tree placement is an essential part of the overall design.

If you have a strong concern about the location of a tree in the design, please contact us by the end of July 2025.