Preston (High Street) Activity Centre
Preston is a great place to work, shop, meet with friends and family, and access your daily needs. It’s also a transport hub that easily connects people to the city and surrounding suburbs.
That’s why it’s a great place for more homes, so more Victorians can get to enjoy living here, close to all the services, jobs and transport it has to offer.
The Department of Transport and Planning and the Victorian Planning Authority are planning for more good quality homes to be built here, and in nine other activity centres across Melbourne.
That way more Victorians, including your friends and family, can call Preston home for generations to come.
It’s part of the Victorian Government’s Housing Statement, to improve housing affordability by tackling the root of the problem: building more homes for more Victorians, in the places people want to live.
Clear new rules for more homes in the Preston (High Street) Activity Centre
The Preston (High Street) Activity Centre is located along High Street, which includes surrounding shops and municipal buildings.
This is a great location for more homes because it is close to the services and jobs of High Street, as well as the transport connections offered by the brand-new Preston and Bell Stations, and buses along High Street, Bell Street and Murray Road.
We are reviewing building heights and design rules for the Preston (High Street) Activity Centre to allow for more good quality homes to be built in the area.
This project will provide clear new rules to allow more homes to be built within walking distance of High Street, while making sure that buildings are appropriate for the local area and are well designed. Insights from existing council work, as well as input from the council, and community engagement, will inform the development of these clear new rules.
As your community grows, we want to make sure it continues to thrive and is a great place to live. We’re working with local councils to guide investment in the things that matter to you like improved streets, parks and community infrastructure.
What kind of change could this mean for your area?
Areas with more jobs, services and transport, like within the Preston (High Street) Activity Centre, can accommodate more change. The surrounding area, called the ‘activity centre catchment’, can also accommodate some change. As you get further from the activity centre, the amount of change and the number of new homes will decrease.
Building on the work of your council
We know the Preston community has been consulted extensively over the past few years about the future of Preston and High Street.
The City of Darebin has already consulted with the Preston community and developed a plan for the future of Preston, the Preston Central Draft Structure Plan (2023). This project will build on the council’s work.
Insights from the council’s recent community consultation, as well as input from the council, will inform the development of clear new rules for the area.
Victoria’s Housing Statement
This is part of the Victorian Government’s plan to improve housing affordability by tackling the root of the problem: not enough housing choice.
In September 2023, the Victorian Government released Victoria’s Housing Statement: The decade ahead 2024-2034, setting a target to build 800,000 homes in Victoria over the next decade. It’s a simple proposition: build more homes, and they’ll be more affordable.
Find out more about Victoria’s Housing Statement at vic.gov.au/housing-statement.
Activity Centre Program
The Activity Centre Program is a part of the Housing Statement. It will create clear new rules for 10 initial activity centres around Melbourne to encourage the development of 60,000 new homes.
Preston is one of these 10 activity centres, along with Broadmeadows, Camberwell Junction, Chadstone, Epping, Frankston, Moorabbin, Niddrie (Keilor Road), North Essendon and Ringwood.
Find out more about the Activity Centre Program on the Department of Transport and Planning website.
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About the Activity Centres Program
Activity centres are community hubs where people shop, work, meet, relax and often live. They range in size, from local neighbourhood shopping strips to centres with universities and major shopping malls. They are places with lots of job options, services and housing, and good transport connections.
Find out more about activity centres on the Department of Transport and Planning website.
The catchment is the area around the activity centre. It is home to the locals who use the activity centre on a regular basis to shop, work and connect with family and friends. Because the catchment is close to the jobs, services, and transport of the activity centre, it can also accommodate more new homes.
The Victorian Government is introducing clear new rules to deliver 60,000 more homes in and around an initial 10 activity centres across Melbourne: Broadmeadows, Camberwell Junction, Chadstone, Epping, Frankston, Moorabbin, Niddrie (Keilor Road), North Essendon, Preston (High Street) and Ringwood.
This is part of Victoria’s Housing Statement, a plan to improve housing affordability by tackling the root of the problem: not enough housing choice.
The 10 activity centres in the Activity Centres Program are a mix of neighbourhoods in the middle and outer suburbs of Melbourne. The Victorian Government chose them because they are great locations for more housing, have good transport connections and will benefit from State Government involvement to create clearer rules to increase housing choice.
Once in place, our clear new rules will allow more high-quality homes to be built within walking distance of the jobs, services and transport connections your neighbourhood has to offer.
This change won’t all happen at once. New homes will be built over the next two to 25 years as people choose to sell or develop their land.
This project will also guide investment in the things a growing community needs like improved streets, parks and community infrastructure.
This project will build on the City of Darebin’s strategic planning work for Preston, which is currently under development. We will look at what the council learnt about Preston from the community to guide our clear new rules.
Our clear new rules will balance the urgent need for more housing with the need to protect areas of heritage significance. The plans will draw from state and local rules about heritage, creating more housing choice while being sensitive to heritage.
How can I get involved?
We know the Preston community has been consulted extensively over the past few years about the future of Preston and High Street.
The City of Darebin has already consulted with the Preston community and developed a plan for the future of Preston, the Preston Central Draft Structure Plan (2023). This project will build on the council’s work.
Insights from the council’s recent community consultation, as well as input from the council, will inform the development of clear new rules for the area.
We want to ensure we hear a broad range of views from the community while planning for the future of Preston (High Street) Activity Centre.
We are establishing a Community Reference Group (CRG) where community representatives can discuss and provide their input. We plan to hold two Community Reference Group meetings in Preston (High Street) Activity Centre during 2024.
Find out more about the CRG, including how to apply, in the ‘Get Involved’ tab above.
About the planning process
The local council will consider planning applications and assess them according to the new rules.
Some applications may be eligible for Victoria’s Development Facilitation Program if they are considered to be significant developments. The program offers faster planning approvals where the Minister for Planning is the decision maker. Decisions made under the Development Facilitation Program are made in consultation with the community, councils and other key stakeholders.
Find out more about Victoria’s Development Facilitation Program at planning.vic.gov.au/planning-approvals/development-facilitation-program
About Victoria's Housing Statement
In September 2023, the Victorian Government released Victoria’s Housing Statement: The decade ahead 2024-2034, setting a target to build 800,000 homes in Victoria over the next decade. It’s a simple proposition: build more homes, and they’ll be more affordable.
Find out more about Victoria’s Housing Statement at vic.gov.au/housing-statement.
The Victorian Government is updating Plan Melbourne – the Victorian Government’s current city strategy spanning 2017-2050 – and expanding it to cover the whole state. A new plan for Victoria will set into action what our state will look like over the coming decades. It will focus on delivering more homes near transport, job opportunities and essential services in vibrant, liveable, and sustainable neighbourhoods.
And as part of that work, it’s important that as many Victorians as possible can have their say on how our state grows in the years to come. There will be opportunities to have your say on a new plan for Victoria in 2024. Find out more at engage.vic.gov.au/developing-a-new-plan-for-victoria
Community Reference Group
We want to ensure we hear a broad range of views from the community while planning for the future of Preston.
We have established a Community Reference Group (CRG) where community representatives can discuss and provide their input. We will hold two Community Reference Group meetings in Preston during 2024.
Applications to join our Preston (High Street) Community Reference Group have closed. We will report on the findings from the group’s meetings throughout 2024.