Planning Minister Sonya Kilkenny said the plans recognised that Victorians wanted homes in areas close to jobs, transport and their families.
“Through these plans, we’re looking at how to deliver more homes – and more affordable homes – within walking distance of local shops, schools, services, parks and public transport,” Kilkenny said.
Camberwell will get approvals fast-tracked for housing developments.Credit: Wayne Taylor
Further work will now begin with the housing industry on incentives to ensure each suburban hub is developed with a share of affordable housing.
The zones will also spark further negotiations with councils about funding for infrastructure, including utilities, green space and transport connections to support the surge in population around each centre.
A 12-storey development at Camberwell Junction was approved in June after several Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal disputes over the site going back eight years.
The 10 hubs were identified last September when the state government announced it wanted to deliver 80,000 new homes a year, or 800,000 over a decade, as part of its housing statement.
This strategy included a pledge to build 60,000 homes in established suburban areas, designated as activity centres, with a view to expanding this ambition across 120 locations in Melbourne.
“Activity centres are prime locations for more housing supply … But we’ve heard from industry that the rules for individual permits can be too slow, causing bottlenecks with approvals,” the government said at the time.
The Department of Transport and Planning released early maps in March about where the centres would be focused – but did not detail building heights or how planning controls would speed up development.
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At the time, Planning Institute of Australia Victorian president Patrick Fensham urged the government to balance its targets with future livability in these areas.
“For some centres, this will represent a step change in density and intensity. A sole focus on the number of dwellings – ‘hitting a dwelling KPI’ – runs the risk of poor development outcomes, pressure on infrastructure, and incomplete future communities, while possibly alienating the people already living in these centres.”
The government is also working to expand its Future Home program – under which off-the-shelf home designs are meant to be used with faster approval times – to residential-zoned areas within 800 metres of an activity centre or railway station.
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Source Agencies
