Victorian Premier, Jacinta Allan and Minister for Planning, Sonya Kilkenny, visited Frankston today to share updated plans for the Government’s first 10 Pilot Activity Centres, which they say will help deliver 60,000 homes in suburban areas by 2051.
Plans for the Centres have been updated following two rounds of extensive community consultation, engaging with more than 10,000 people, councils and other key groups – with key changes made, the Ministers said.
They are all about building more homes where they make sense: more homes and fast approvals in busy commercial precincts, with lower and gentler height limits for the residential area surrounding, said Premier Allan.
“The status quo won’t cut it. There is only one way out of the housing crisis – build our way out,” said the Premier.
“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.
“Fearmongering politicians claimed we wouldn’t consult or make changes that reflect the community’s wishes. Here is the evidence that we have – and we will.”
The 10 Pilot Activity Centres are proposed for Broadmeadows, Camberwell Junction, Chadstone, Epping, Frankston, Moorabbin, Niddrie, North Essendon, Preston (High Street), and Ringwood.
Minister Kilkenny said the plans for each have evolved in response to feedback from the community – including boundary reductions and lower height limits.
Activity centres still contain a ‘core’ (the busy, commercial precinct where taller buildings are suitable) and a walkable ‘catchment’ in the streets surrounding (where gentler, low-rise development is preferred).
Under the previous draft plans, all proposed catchment areas had a four-storey height limit – with scope for up to six storeys on large blocks that are more than 1,000 square meters and have 20 metres of street frontage.
Under the updated plans, catchment areas will be split into two: inner and outer. Inner catchments are closer to the core and will have the same four-storey limit, or up to six storeys on larger blocks. Outer catchments are farther from the core and will have a new three-storey limit, or up to four storeys on larger blocks.
Catchment boundaries have also been reduced in most centres, following local feedback and a closer, street-by-street and step-by-step analysis of what constitutes a 10-minute walk from the core.
In the core, maximum heights continue to 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 will 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, the Planning Minister said.
Applications that exceed these heights are not eligible for the fast-tracked ‘deemed to comply’ process.
Other changes include new rules to support tree planting on larger sites and stronger controls to protect sunlight and prevent overshadowing of parks and open spaces.
“This is about giving young Victorians who are locked out of the housing market the opportunity their parents had,” said Minister Kilkenny.
Developers building new homes in the Pilot Activity Centres will be required to make a contribution from 1 January 2027. Contributions will go towards works like road and path upgrades, parks and open space, community facilities and more.
Subject to gazettal, the plans will take effect next month.
