The government said the plan, which aims to limit urban sprawl and build 70 per cent of new homes in established suburbs, would reverse decades of over-reliance on building homes on Melbourne’s fringe to absorb the city’s rapid population growth.
“For the last 30 years, greenfield areas have shouldered a disproportionate amount of Melbourne’s growth,” it said in a statement. “Homes in well-serviced council areas like Boroondara have only grown 24 per cent since 1994, while Wyndham grew 439 per cent over the same time.”
A new housing estate in Pakenham in Melbourne’s outer south-east, one of the area’s targeted in the 10-year plan.Credit: Penny Stephens
The Property Council said plans for building in Melbourne’s greenfields areas had become more complex and slower to deliver, contributing to the current housing crisis and “a persistent shortage of industrial land”.
It said the plan left key questions on those challenges unanswered.
“Today’s 10-year greenfields plan provides a target for delivery but fails to answer key questions about how delivery will be sped up, including how current barriers such as drainage and other infrastructure delays, or inconsistent cultural heritage requirements, will be adequately addressed.”
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Among the first batch of precincts to be developed is Beveridge North West, which has drawn controversy over the potential inclusion of a quarry close to 15,000 planned homes. Mitchell Shire Council has campaigned strongly against the quarry’s approval.
The City of Casey has also cast doubt over the viability of one of the first employment precincts in the planning pipeline, in Officer South, until the government also extends a dead-end arterial road into the area.
Meanwhile, two slices of government-owned land next to Oakleigh and Footscray train stations will be put on the private market this week.
Premier Jacinta Allan, who announced the sell-off on Wednesday, said the Oakleigh site was ideal for mid-rise living, generally considered to be three to six storeys. The developer will be required to start construction within 18 months and ensure 10 per cent of apartments are affordable.
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Together, the two sites will deliver around 240 homes. Both stations are expected to have more frequent and reliable trains when the Metro Tunnel opens in 2025.
“Train station locations are great places to build more homes,” Allan said on Wednesday.
“This is part of our plan across 45 sites where land the government owns can be released to the market to build something like 9000 more homes, close to jobs, services and public transport.”
