The liveability risk in building 60 new housing hubs across Melbourne

At a housing forum organised by Whitehorse City Council last Thursday, a leading planning lawyer told the audience that the Victorian government was not following the standard process it requires of councils.

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“It’s not apparent that any of that [population, infrastructure and transport] analysis has been done, or if it has been done, it’s not been publicly released,” the lawyer said.

The state government’s new planning regulations in its first 10 transport hubs will be made official this month to allow for the fast-tracked development of townhouses and apartment buildings of between three and 20 storeys.

Fensham said he hoped the government would improve its approach for the next 50 activity centres.

“The opportunity exists to get the next 50 right,” he said. “We understand the first 10 were a pilot process and there’s need for rapid thinking to deliver on the housing statement, but now is the opportunity for the next tranche of work to take on board some of the lessons and engage with councils and communities.”

Fensham said that changing planning controls alone would not bring more housing, and called for clear short- and long-term health, education and transport infrastructure plans to support the target of building 2.24 million homes statewide by 2051.

“We don’t have the resources to support development at that scale on multiple fronts all at once,” he said. “What’s the sequence of provision of infrastructure that will provide a signal for where housing goes first, next and in the long term?”

Urban Design Forum co-president Katherine Sundermann said the 10 activity centre plans felt rushed and were missing mention of many fundamental elements that made a place liveable, such as parks, community services and pleasant streets.

“We have 50 activity centres to go,” Sundermann said. “The process would benefit from having greater ability to give feedback.

“One of the things that should be required is economic modelling of how much floor space is needed for housing, offices and retail. This is something that historically has been done as part of structure planning processes and can be done quite quickly.”

There has been widespread frustration among councillors and planners that they are learning about the state reforms at the same time as the wider public, with minimal chance for feedback.

Fensham called for more collaboration: “The process needs to allow for a to-and-fro of discussion and testing.”

The 10 first centres only had a four-week window during which submissions could be sent, and that coincided with the caretaker period during last year’s council elections. This differs from the approach to planning the Suburban Rail Loop station precincts, which will involve more consultation and public hearings.

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Municipal Association of Victoria president Jennifer Anderson called for the state government to involve council planners and residents more in crafting the next 50 activity centres.

“People are more inclined to be happy about increased development if they are brought along for the discussion and can see that what being planned is not a threat to what makes their place special,” Anderson said.

A government spokesman said the planning rules being introduced in the 10 first activity centres were based on extensive urban design and technical analysis tailored to the local areas to create quality streetscapes.

He said work on the next 50 would be informed by the engagement on the first 10.

“There is only one way out of the housing crisis – build our way out,” he said.

“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.”

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