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Melbourne 2030 – Planning for Sustainable Growth Prepares the Groundwork for Where We Will Live

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Melbourne 2030 – Planning for Sustainable Growth Prepares the Groundwork for Where We Will Live Hard copies of this document are available from Information Victoria. © State of Victoria 2002 ISBN 0 7311 8739 3 Since time immemorial, Aboriginal people have cared for this land and its natural and cultural resources. This long and unique association continues today through the Aboriginal communities who live and work in metropolitan Melbourne. Accordingly, the Victorian Government is proud to acknowledge Aboriginal people as the original inhabitants of this land. Ministers’ messages Ministers’ messages Growing metropolitan Melbourne Melbourne is one of the world’s most liveable cities because of the foundations laid out by a succession of earlier plans. To protect what we like about Melbourne for future generations, we must now take stock and plan a more compact and sustainable city. With our population set to grow by one million by 2030, Melbourne 2030 – planning for sustainable growth prepares the groundwork for where we will live. Families in new suburbs will have the schools, transport and other services they need, existing suburbs will be protected from overdevelopment and our productive land will be retained. Melbourne 2030 is an action plan to ensure the benefits of growth are shared fairly across the State, and in a sustainable way. Initiatives include protecting our rural vistas, such as the Dandenongs, Yarra Valley and Mornington Peninsula, by setting an interim growth boundary that will have immediate effect on planning decisions. Twelve ‘green wedges’ will be protected and 10 new parks created. Our ageing population and a big increase in one-and-two person households, will promote a better mix of housing with, as a start, more than 130 major sites identified for potential large residential developments and 25 centres with a capacity for higher density housing. Speeding up basic infrastructure in new housing estates, extending the waterfront focus in Melbourne and encouraging apartment-style living beyond the city centre are among other key initiatives. Melbourne 2030 shifts from a city-centric ‘hub and spoke’ development view of Victoria to seeing our State as a network of cities, towns and regions that relate to, and depend on, each other. Growth will be shared with regional and rural Victoria by capitalising on the fast-train links. Public transport will also be expanded to the suburbs where people that are now car-dependent live. Melbourne 2030 is part of our Growing Victoria Together vision that balances economic, social and environmental goals, so that our children will enjoy an even better quality of life. I thank everyone who has taken the time, through public forums and written submissions, to shape this 30-year plan. Now, I look forward to working with the community to put it into action. Steve Bracks Premier of Victoria iv Ministers’ messages Vision In the next 30 years, Melbourne will grow by up to one million people and will consolidate its reputation as one of the most liveable, attractive and prosperous areas in the world for residents, business and visitors. v Ministers’ messages A living city Melbourne 2030 is an exciting project because it is about our vision for our city. This is not a dry technical report about land-use and transport planning. It is about the sort of city in which we all want to live. It deals with our green places, the cultural life of the city and the protection of the built heritage that survives to give us a deserved reputation as one of the world’s great Victorian-era cities and a place where some of our modern architecture attracts international attention. Melbourne 2030 also looks at access and relationships. It formulates policies to ensure that all people who live and work in metropolitan Melbourne and the surrounding region have fair access to the facilities needed for a healthy, safe and productive life – to quality housing, shops, schools, hospitals and places to work and play – whatever their circumstances and wherever they live. This initiative is long overdue. Not only does Melbourne 2030 set out the Government’s vision for the future, it begins the implementation process. We now look forward to public comment on how we propose to put its initiatives into action at different locations around metropolitan Melbourne and the surrounding region. I urge all Victorians to take an interest in Melbourne 2030, as its implications extend far beyond the boundary of the city. Planners are now seeing metropolitan Melbourne as one node in a network of cities that provides the economic backbone of the State. Faster freeway connections and the imminent arrival of fast train links are changing the relationships between metropolitan Melbourne and regional Victoria. As its policies are incorporated into planning rules, Melbourne 2030 will help guide future planning decisions. It is appropriate that it is based on the concept of enabling growth and prosperity while preserving the quality of life we all value, and ensuring proper protection of the environment and our cultural heritage. Melbourne 2030 reflects the culmination of a lengthy process and I thank the large number of people within and outside government who have contributed. I also acknowledge the work of my colleague, the Deputy Premier, John Thwaites. He made a substantial contribution to shaping the direction of Melbourne 2030 as he held the Planning portfolio until January 2002. Mary Delahunty Minister for Planning vi Ministers’ messages Sustainable transport Melbourne 2030 is a blueprint for the future of metropolitan Melbourne. It is vital that we locate community activities to be as widely accessible as possible. The shape of the city has a fundamental impact on our need for improved public transport services and roads. Recently, the Premier announced a bold vision for transport in metropolitan Melbourne in the policy statement, Growing Victoria Together. That vision is described as ‘20/2020’. It intends that by the year 2020, the proportion of motorised transport trips taken on public transport will more than double, from the present 9 per cent to 20 per cent. To reach this target, we must plan for the future by finding answers to important questions. What sort of city do we want metropolitan Melbourne to be? How will people travel around it? How will we increase the travel choices available to them? Which suburbs will grow and what kind of houses will people want? How can we better plan the city so that our transportation systems are efficient and ‘green’? How can improved transport systems help build communities and enhance the quality of life for Melburnians? Not surprisingly, in the consultation process for Melbourne 2030, transport emerged as a dominant theme. It also proved to be the feature Melburnians liked most and least about their city. Melbourne 2030 proposes to integrate land-use and transport policies around activity centres, to create a balanced and workable city. The focus has shifted from expansion on the city’s perimeter, requiring major new infrastructure, to urban consolidation and better use of existing transport resources. This includes action to address a key weakness – the shortage of quality bus routes that link activity centres and complement the radial train and tram services. I urge you all to read on, and provide us with feedback about the initiatives proposed in the Strategy so that metropolitan Melbourne is the kind of city we want it to be, in public transport terms by 2020, and as a whole in 2030 and beyond. Peter Batchelor Minister for Transport vii Contents Ministers’ messages iv Growing metropolitan Melbourne iv A living city vi Sustainable transport vii Melbourne 2030 in summary 12 The basis for Melbourne 2030 21 Why do we need to look ahead? 21 What are the underlying key issues? 22 How has Melbourne 2030 developed? 24 The scope of Melbourne 2030 26 Who will use Melbourne 2030? 26 How does it relate to the planning system? 26 Why does it look beyond metropolitan Melbourne? 27 How will it affect regional towns and cities? 27 Focus on Melbourne 29 How we were 29 How we are 29 How we might be 31 The strategic framework 32 Vision 32 Principles 32 Key directions 33 Policies and initiatives 43 Direction 1 - A more compact city 44 Direction 2 - Better management of metropolitan growth 57 Direction 3 - Networks with the regional cities 69 Direction 4 - A more prosperous city 73 Direction 5 - A great place to be 84 Direction 6 - A fairer city 106 Direction 7 - A greener city 115 Direction 8 - Better transport links 134 Direction 9 - Better planning decisions, careful management 147 Implementing Melbourne 2030 154 Setting priorities for action 154 Sustainability in decision-making 155 Working with local government 156 Working across government 158 Implications for State departments and agencies 159 How to have your say 161 Appendixes 162 Acronyms 162 Technical reports 162 Consultation reports 163 Glossary 164 Topics 168 Information boxes 172 Figures 174 Acknowledgements 176 Vision In the next 30 years, Melbourne will grow by up to one million people and will consolidate its reputation as one of the most liveable, attractive and prosperous areas in the world for residents, business and visitors. Melbourne 2030 in summary Melbourne 2030 in summary Melbourne 2030 – planning for sustainable growth is a 30-year plan to manage growth and change across metropolitan Melbourne and the surrounding region. It emphasises the city’s interdependence with regional Victoria, to provide maximum benefit to the whole State. In establishing and articulating this vision through a set of Principles and nine Key Directions, Melbourne 2030 provides a framework for governments at all levels to respond to the diverse needs of those who live and work in and near to Melbourne, and those who visit. Melbourne 2030 is a plan for the growth and development of the metropolitan area.
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