Apartments of up to twenty storeys are set to be allowed around transport hubs in more of Melbourne’s middle suburbs as the Victorian Government seeks to unlock greater housing supply in established areas.

(above: photo of Caulfield in Melbourne’s east. Source)

The Victorian Government has released draft maps showing proposed heights for the remaining 23 of its Train and Tram Zone activity centres which are intended to be delivered as part of its Activity Centres program.

Set to deliver up to 300,000 new homes between now and 2051, the Activity Centres program is a key part of the Victorian Government’s strategy to deliver more homes within established areas of Melbourne.

In particular, the program aims to deliver greater housing density in and around public transport hubs.

The program is being delivered across two phases.

In the first phase, new planning controls for high-rise development near public transport were tested in ten pilot activity centres.

These include centres at Broadmeadows, Camberwell Junction, Chadstone, Epping, Frankston, Moorabbin, Niddrie & North Essendon, Preston and Ringwood.

In the second phase of the program, these new planning controls are being applied to a further 50 Train and Tram Zone activity centres.

Draft plans in relation to the first 25 Train and Tram Zones were released last year.

Draft maps in respect of the final 23 zones have now been released.

(A further two zones in inner Melbourne which cover the entire local government areas of Melbourne and Yarra will go through a separate process.)

The final 23 zones include:

• Five areas which are connected to the new Metro Tunnel, including Caulfield, Springvale,Noble Park, Yarraman (neighbourhood centre), and Dandenong
• Eight areas along the Frankston line: Hawksburn, Toorak(Beatty Avenue), Armadale (High Street), Malvern (Glenferrie Road), Glen Huntly, Ormond, Bentleigh, and Mentone 
• Four areas along the Sandringham line including South Yarra, Prahan, Windsor and Elsternwick
• Three areas on the Belgrave and Lilydale line including Blackburn, Nunawading and Mitcham
• Two neighbourhood centres on the Alamein Line: Ashburton Station, plus a combined centre for the two closest stations on the metropolitan network Riversdale & Willison
• One neighbourhood centre, Toorak Village, in a built-up area along the Route 58 tram.

High density around a core, gentler density in surrounding catchments

As mentioned above, the program aims to deliver greater housing density in and around public transport hubs.

Under the program, medium and high density will be delivered around an inner core.

Surrounding this, gentler height limits and more low-rise apartments and townhouses will be allowed within walkable catchment areas.

Specifically:

• In an immediate ‘core’ the plans allow for taller apartment buildings. Allowable height limits within these areas vary from six to twenty storeys in height, depending on the planning work of local councils. Development proposals which meet these requirements will be deemed to comply with planning rules and will be eligible for a fast-track approval process.
• Next, there are inner catchment These represent areas of up to a five-minute walk from the station or centre. In these areas, the maps propose limits of four storeys. This rises to six storeys on larger blocks of more than 1,000 square meters. Within these areas, heritage and landscape overlays will stay in place. So too will existing rights of residents to have their say.
• Finally, there are outer catchment These represent areas of up to a ten-minute walk from the station or centre. In these areas, the maps propose limits of three storeys rising to four storeys on larger blocks of more than 1,000 square metres. As with inner catchment areas, both heritage and landscape overlays along with existing resident rights will remain.

A key part of the plan is that it is not based on a one-size-fits-all approach.

Instead, plans have been tailored for individual communities.

In the busy hub of Caulfield in Melbourne’s southeast, for example, up to 20 storeys in height will be allowed in part of the inner core.

This falls to eight storeys in nearby Ashburton in recognition of the fact that this has access only to the limited capacity Alamein line.

On the Lilydale line, the core areas surrounding Blackburn station is considerably larger than that which surrounds neighboring stations of Nunawading or Mitcham on account of Blackburn’s status as an urban village.

(Draft map for Blackburn train and tram zone. Image: Victorian Government)

The draft maps follow the first round of consultations in which more than 1,000 people attended in-person or online sessions and more than 3,000 submissions were received.

This second and more detailed consultation will run across February and March. In this round, community members will be able to provide feedback on the draft maps including heights, setbacks and boundaries.

Plans for all 50 Train and Tram Zone activity centres are expected to be finalised this year.

Victorian Planning Minister Sonia Kilkenny welcomed the release of the draft plans.

“We want more Victorians to have the opportunity to live close to public transport, their loved ones, and the things that matter to them,” Kilkenny said.

“Whether it’s making it easier to build homes close to public transport, townhouses in our inner suburbs, or family homes with a backyard – our planning reforms are all about giving more Victorians real housing choice.”

“While we’re focused on giving more young Victorians the opportunity to have a home of their own, the Liberals are blocking them from being built. They oppose more homes near transport, jobs and services.”

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