Amendment C088 to the Hobsons Bay Planning Scheme
The Altona North Precinct is 67 hectares in size and is generally bounded by Blackshaws Road, Kyle Road, New Street and the West Gate Freeway in Altona North and South Kingsville.
The Victorian Planning Authority (VPA) has worked closely with Hobsons Bay City Council and landowners to develop a Comprehensive Development Plan and Development Contributions Plan to facilitate the redevelopment of the precinct. The precinct will transition from existing industrial uses to a residential mixed-use neighbourhood and ultimately is anticipated to include:
- 3,000 homes (townhouses and apartments), with a commitment to 5% affordable housing.
- A network of tree-lined streets and laneways
- A new town centre on Blackshaws Road shops, a supermarket and civic space
- Commercial office space providing local employment opportunities
- A large central park and four local parks
- Extensive cycle paths, including a connection to Federation trail
- Bus route to Newport and Spotswood train stations
For further information, refer to:
Background information
The Victorian Planning Authority (VPA) a Victorian Government statutory authority that plans for urban growth across Victoria. We report to the Minister for Planning.
The VPA’s main task is to make sure Melbourne and Victoria’s regions remain great places to live and work. This requires vision and long-term planning to ensure our growing population has equitable access to employment, public transport, attractive public spaces and affordable housing.
We do this by working closely with councils, government agencies and the planning and development community on integrated land use and infrastructure coordination for new communities and strategically important precincts.
Council has identified this land for future development since 2008, when the Hobsons Bay Industrial Land Management Strategy stated that the precinct was suitable to convert into a residential development.
After years of negotiation between landowners and Hobsons Bay City Council, the Victorian Minister for Planning directed the VPA to assist in the preparation of amendment documentation for the site.
Throughout the preparation process the VPA met regularly with Hobsons Bay City Council to ensure any decisions made were in the best interest of the future community.
The VPA has created a comprehensive development plan for 67 hectares of land in Altona North because this precinct is currently under-utilised. Once a hub of manufacturing, this site is no longer suitable for industry, and without a plan in place it risks becoming an unattractive expanse that is out of character with the rest of the neighbourhood.
By developing this land, the area will better serve the community’s needs, providing housing, jobs and attractive parklands for new and existing residents.
The Comprehensive Development Plan is a long-term plan for urban development. It describes how land is expected to be developed and how land uses may change over time to create a residential and employment hub. It also includes where and how additional services, utilities and transport infrastructure are planned to support future development.
The development contributions plan outlines the levies landowners and developers must pay to the State Government and council to fund infrastructure and facilities for the new community.
The comprehensive development zone is a planning tool that formalises the allowable uses within the precinct to ensure any development of land is in accordance with the CDP.
A ‘mixed-use’ precinct is an area that has a variety of uses. In the case of this precinct, it will have housing, a commercial area, a town centre and community facilities.
Project information
A number of height limits are proposed, with heights at the interface of the precinct being three storeys on existing residential areas of Kyle Road and New Street and scaling upwards to six storeys in the centre of the precinct.
The plan states that buildings greater than three storeys in height should be highly articulated in design, including the use of podiums, verandahs and active frontages.
The proposed development site is located between Kyle Road, New Street, Blackshaws Road and the West Gate Freeway.
The main elements of the plan include:
- a new town centre on Blackshaws Road incorporating shops, a supermarket and civic space
- 3000 homes (townhouses and apartments)
- 15,000sqm of new town centre and commercial space
- a network of tree-lined streets and laneways
- a large central park and four other local parks
- extensive cycle paths, including a connection to Federation Trail
- buses to Newport and Spotswood train stations
- 5% affordable housing.
Extensive traffic modelling has been prepared to ensure this precinct is able to cope with the additional road demand.
This master plan stipulates that developers must build two new signalised intersections on Blackshaws Road, directing traffic from the precinct onto that road.
Wider traffic impacts associated with the new development will be mitigated by funding improvements to the intersection of Millers Road and Blackshaws Road to improve its capacity.
Furthermore, there will be several new cycle paths in the precinct and bus services to nearby train stations.
Additionally, the plan for the precinct includes the following outcomes to assist in mitigating any additional traffic:
- Development levies will include contribute to the new infrastructure (connector roads and new intersections) and to external works in the wider area.
- The comprehensive development plan addresses the potential for ‘rat running’ within the precinct by showing only one east-west connection through the precinct and by offsetting intersections from the existing road network.
Public transport is a significant feature of this plan. Every dwelling will be within 400 metres of a bus stop, and buses will travel to travel between Spotswood and Newport train stations and Altona Gate Shopping Centre. The precinct will also have many off-road cycle paths, including a connection to Federation Trail.
Developers will be charged a $54 million levy to develop the precinct, which will be used to pay for vital community infrastructure, including the $6.5 million community centre.
The comprehensive development plan has been developed with input from the Western Distributor Authority and accounts for the preferred design for the West Gate Tunnel Project.
A new, three-hectare park with native landscaping and recreation area will transform land in the north of the precinct into new open space for locals. A new cycling and walking connection under the West Gate Freeway to the completed Federation Trail will help more people reach and enjoy this park.
Developers will be required to submit a Construction Environmental Management Plan before they build to ensure they remove any contaminated material (where necessary) in areas proposed for accessible soils.
Development will result in progressive remediation of potentially contaminated land (subject to the Environmental Audit Overlay process) with consequent benefits for soil quality, stormwater runoff and groundwater; and remediation and re-use of former quarries within the precinct for residential and recreation purposes.
Next steps
The approval of Amendment C88 to the Hobsons Bay Planning Scheme was the last step in the planning process for this site. Hobsons Bay City Council will now oversee the renewal of the site which will be guided by the Altona North CDP and associated planning documents.
Future changes
The new Altona North precinct will blend in with the existing residential landscapes of Altona North and South Kingsville. Tree-lined streets, front gardens and local parks are essential elements of any neighbourhood and this precinct aims to reflect those suburban characteristics.
Existing businesses can continue to operate as they currently do.
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