CHAPTER 04 PRODUCTIVITY The Southern Metro Region is a diverse economic region with key strengths in the industrial, health and education, and population serving sectors. The region includes Victoria’s Plan Melbourne Outcome 1: most significant stock of existing Melbourne is a productive and future industrial land, with easy city that attracts investment, access to transport gateways such supports innovation and creates as Moorabbin Airport and the Port of jobs Hastings. Photo credit: Tim Bell Studio 17 DRAFT SOUTHERN METRO LAND USE FRAMEWORK PLAN The Dandenong National Employment and Innovation Cluster (Dandenong NEIC), which State of play contains the Dandenong Metropolitan Activity The Southern Metro Region’s employment and Centre and a significant part of the Southern activity centres framework comprises: Industrial Precinct, provides employment for more • The Dandenong NEIC and part than 66,300 people (DELWP, 2017a, p. 30). of the Monash NEIC The region’s top five employment industries are: • Metropolitan activity centres at Dandenong, healthcare and social assistance; retail trade; Frankston and Fountain Gate-Narre Warren education and training; manufacturing; and • State-significant health and/or education construction. Employment growth is projected precincts, including Frankston Hospital and to continue in these five industries along with Monash University Precinct (Frankston), growth in higher-order retail, commercial, Casey Hospital and Monash University institutional and cultural services supported by Precinct (Berwick), Dandenong Hospital Dandenong, Frankston and Fountain Gate-Narre and Chisholm TAFE Precinct Warren metropolitan activity centres. SRL East (Cheltenham to Box Hill) will connect the region • SSIPs, including the Southern Industrial Precinct to key employment and education precincts in (which is composed of several distinct precincts other regions such as Monash NEIC and Deakin and forms part of the Dandenong NEIC), the Port University. of Hastings Industrial Precinct and the Officer- Pakenham Industrial Precinct. The SSIPs are Agriculture and horticulture activities also take referred to as the Southern SSIP, Hastings SSIP place in the Southern Metro Region including an and Officer-Pakenham SSIP important dairy industry, north of Western Port, and • Eleven regionally-significant industrial precincts horticulture, viticulture and tourism industries on the Mornington Peninsula. • A network of 18 major activity centres and two future major activity centres, Plan Melbourne creates a city structure that which have significant capacity to sustain strengthens Melbourne’s competitiveness for jobs additional investment and growth and investment. It identifies national employment • Two growth area business corridors including and innovation clusters (NEICs), state-significant the Thompsons Road Business Corridor and industrial precincts (SSIPs), a network of the Officer-Pakenham Business Corridor metropolitan and major activity centres, transport • Major tourism attractions and significant gateways and state-significant health and regional agricultural production areas education precincts to ensure employment growth for dairy, horticulture and viticulture. occurs outside the Central City and is linked by sustainable transport options. The Southern Metro Region generates $49 billion in Gross Regional Product (GRP), which represents Bringing jobs closer to where people live through 15 per cent of Melbourne’s total GRP. The business supportive infrastructure and a commitment service sector and the manufacturing and industrial to commercial and industrial land supply is a sector combined account for just over 60 per cent fundamental part of Plan Melbourne. The Southern of the total value add for the region. The business Metro Region LUFP supports an urban system services sector is the largest contributor with a that is regionally focused and enables regional total value-added estimate at around $16.7 billion, service delivery, which provides greater certainty while the manufacturing and industrial sector is the for government and private sector investment. next largest contributor with a total value-added Reducing the distance people need to travel for estimate at around $13.2 billion (DELWP, 2020a). work via regional employment hubs also reduces congestion and offers other benefits for workers, In 2016 the region supported around 392,250 jobs, business and industries. representing 17 per cent of all employment across metropolitan Melbourne. By 2031, an estimated 128,000 additional jobs will be required, with over half of these new jobs expected to be within the DRAFT SOUTHERN METRO LAND USE FRAMEWORK PLAN 18 CHAPTER 04 growth area LGAs of Casey and Cardinia. Industries A total of 855 hectares of land in the Southern Metro expected to experience the strongest growth are Region is zoned for commercial purposes. Almost healthcare and social assistance, retail trade, 3.2 million square metres of floorspace is estimated manufacturing, construction, and education and to be used for, or is available for, commercial training. Projected employment growth for the purposes. Approximately 43 per cent of existing Southern Metro Region is shown in Figure 6. floorspace supply is located in Casey and Greater Dandenong LGAs. Casey and Cardinia contain The Southern Metro Region has around 9610 approximately 555 hectares of land identified for hectares of land zoned for industrial uses with future commercial purposes in strategic plans. around a quarter of this land currently vacant. In addition, it contains 1184 hectares of land that has Transport projects that will contribute to the been identified for future industrial purposes yet productivity of the Southern Metro Region include: to be zoned accordingly. Of the total vacant and • Cranbourne Line Upgrade unzoned industrial land, approximately 36 per • SRL, including a proposed station cent is located within the Officer-Pakenham SSIP, at Cheltenham-Southland while approximately 31 per cent is available in the Southern SSIP and the Hastings SSIP. • Level crossing removals • Monash Freeway upgrade • Mordialloc Bypass. FUEIG R 6. P rojected employment growth for the Southern Metro Region 2016 to 2031 Source: Melbourne Industrial and Commercial Land Use Plan, DELWP, 2020 19 DRAFT SOUTHERN METRO LAND USE FRAMEWORK PLAN ProDUCTIVITY Regional strengths Directions and strategies • The Dandenong NEIC, with specialisation in The directions identified to achieve the 2050 knowledge-based advanced manufacturing, has vision for the Southern Metro Region in terms of opportunities to grow and its success will have Productivity and Outcome 1 of Plan Melbourne are: flow-on effects to surrounding activity centres and employment locations in Melbourne’s Direction 1 Plan for and manage industrial south-east. precincts in the Southern • Monash NEIC, specialising in education, Metro Region to be continued innovation, and leading-edge technology and generators of economic activity research, contributes significantly to the region’s and employment knowledge and technology-based economy. • The region’s metropolitan activity centres of Direction 2 Facilitate the development of the Dandenong, Frankston and Fountain Gate-Narre Monash and Dandenong NEICs Warren all have significant potential to as major economic contributors accommodate employment growth. for the regional and national • A network of activity centres and employment economy supported by increased precincts will grow and diversify the employment transport connectivity base of the region. • The capacity for the Port of Hastings to become Direction 3 Support the development of a a major container port if required has significant strong network of activity centres potential to bring investment to the region. to provide jobs closer to where • Growth areas will provide new employment people live opportunities, so more people can find work close to where they live. Direction 4 Ensure the South Eastern Growth • Health and education precincts will support Corridor accommodates longer- the region’s growing population. term industrial and commercial development opportunities • Coastal settlements and diverse green wedges support the region’s cultural and recreational assets, the visitor and tourism economy, and its Direction 5 Ensure health and/or education agribusiness. precincts continue to provide local jobs while supporting the • The region’s productive soils and reliable water region’s growing population supplies support agriculture and are a key part of Melbourne’s long-term food bowl. Direction 6 Ensure protection of green • There is significant availability of extractive wedges and support their role to resources. provide agriculture, extractive resources, tourism and state infrastructure for the long-term Regional challenges benefit of all Victorians • Significant stocks of employment land, industrial land and SSIPs, are under pressure from other Each direction is implemented through regionally- land uses. specific strategies identified in this LUFP. • Maintaining access to extractive resources in shows how productivity will be enhanced the region is important, both within and outside Map 2 across the Southern Metro Region by 2050 as a the UGB, close to areas of resource demand. result of these directions and strategies, together • Planning for growth areas should provide local with Plan Melbourne and other strategies and jobs for residents within the region. initiatives as outlined in Appendix 01. DRAFT SOUTHERN METRO LAND USE FRAMEWORK