Have your say on the future of Bridgewater and Inglewood

Published on 10 October 2025

Town Structure Plans are essential if our communities are to develop and grow the way we want them to, and even more so for Bridgewater and Inglewood.

Both towns were identified in Loddon Shire Council’s Planning Scheme Review in 2023 as priorities for a structure plan, due to the existing levels of demand, the proximity to Bendigo, and the environmental challenges of bushfire and flood.

The Department of Transport and Planning (DTP) is supporting Council to develop structure plans to guide the future development of Bridgewater and Inglewood, and consultants Plan2Place have been appointed to undertake the project.

A structure plan will be prepared for each town, and will consider how land can be used, what infrastructure is required and how challenges and opportunities can be addressed.

Affordable and diverse housing supply, business and job growth, town character and amenity, and environmental risk are some of the issues that will influence the final structure plans.

There are a range of opportunities for the community to contribute to the development of the structure plans for their towns.

A survey for each town is now available to be completed at the Connect@Loddon website.

The survey is seeking information from community members, business owners and visitors about what they love about the towns and what they would like to see change.

Community drop-in sessions will be held to enable each community and visitors to speak directly to the project team about their ideas.

These will be held at:

Inglewood – Thursday, 30 October, 3.30pm-5.30pm - Lions Park, Brooke St.

Bridgewater – Friday, 31 October, 8.30am-10.30 am - in front of the Post Office, Main St.

Loddon Shire Mayor Dan Straub encouraged residents to have their say.

“The 2023 planning scheme review clearly identified Bridgewater and Inglewood as priorities for structure plans and we are pleased to be able to get this process underway,” he said.

“It is vital we hear from residents and other interested parties on what they want for their towns if we are to get future development right.”

Plan2Place have already visited both towns and are very excited about the potential that they offer.

They are currently preparing a background paper that will include information about economic and residential drivers, environmental and infrastructure considerations and community desires and expectations.

This will provide the foundation for the development of the structure plans.