This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
Victoria’s Allan government has scaled back plans in Melbourne’s activity centres, which are expected to deliver 60,000 homes by 2051.
Premier Jacinta Allan and minister for planning Sonya Kilkenny announced the revised plans for the Government’s first 10 Pilot Activity Centres including boundary reductions and lower height limits, following extensive community consultation, engaging with more than 10,000 people, councils and other key groups.
The 10 Pilot Activity Centres are in Broadmeadows, Camberwell Junction, Chadstone, Epping, Frankston, Moorabbin, Niddrie, North Essendon, Preston (High Street), and Ringwood.
Under the previous draft plans, the government had proposed a four-storey height limit – with scope for up to six storeys on large blocks that are more than 1,000 sqm and have 20 metres of street frontage.
Under the new that will take effect next month, catchment areas will be split into two: inner and outer.
Inner are closer to the core and will have the same four-storey limit, or up to six storeys on larger blocks.
Whereas outer are farther from the core and will have a new three-storey limit, or up to four storeys on larger blocks.
In the core, maximum heights will apply for developments using the fast-tracked ‘deemed to comply’ process. A maximum of 10 storeys will apply in the core in Niddrie, North Essendon and Preston.
A maximum of 12 storeys will apply in the core in Broadmeadows, Camberwell, Chadstone, Epping and Moorabbin.
Taller maximums apply in the core in Ringwood (20 storeys) and Frankston (16 storeys) because this is what local councils asked for as part of their own long-term planning.
Applications exceeding the limit are not eligible for the fast-tracked process.
The government said revised plans is “what gentle density is all about”, allowing the maximum heights to scale down as you move away from shops and transport, instead of staying flat.
“The status quo won’t cut it. There is only one way out of the housing crisis – build our way out.
“We want more homes for young people and workers close to jobs, transport, and services – so they can live where they want, near the things they need and the people they love,” she added.
Minister for planning Sonya Kilkenny said the plan is about giving young Victorians who are locked out of the housing market the opportunity their parents had.
The support the local infrastructure, developers building new homes in the Pilot Activity Centres will be required to make a contribution from 1 January 2027.
Meanwhile the government will progress to the next stage of community consultation on the proposed 50 ‘train and tram zone’ Activity Centres, which deliver an additional 300,000 homes by 2051.
