News / Planning
New planning rules reach for the sky
Claims residents have been ‘blindsided’ by changes to building height limits
An aerial view of the Hoffman Brickworks in Brunswick. Residents are worried a corner site, demolished since this photo was taken, could end up with a 16-storey apartment building. Photo: Airview Online
Mark Phillips
APARTMENT buildings up to 16 storeys in height will be allowed in parts of Brunswick and Coburg under the state government’s shake up of planning laws to deliver tens of thousands of new homes over the next 25 years.
Maps released by the government show dozens of sites identified for high-rise buildings up to 12 levels including at least 15 where heights would be capped even taller.
Brunswick and Coburg are among 50 “activity centres” where the government aims to deliver more than 300,000 additional homes close to jobs, services and transport by 2051.
The activity centres will be governed by new planning controls that transfer decision making over large projects from councils to the state government to allow faster approvals to achieve the ambitious target.
Brunswick and Coburg were both chosen because of their proximity to existing tram and train services.
The new maps forsee buildings up to eight storeys along the length of Sydney Road between Park Street and Moreland Road, and mostly 12 storeys north towards Bell Street.
Currently, Brunswick and Coburg are governed by a patchwork of discretionary height limits with few residential building taller than 12 storeys apart from at the Pentridge precinct in Coburg.
Among the sites where 16 storeys would be allowed under the new plans are the Hoffman Brickworks near Gilpin Park in Brunswick and industrial land already under development adjacent to Clifton Park. Back streets where high-rise buildings would be permitted include Dods, Frith, Albert and Thomas streets on the eastern side of Sydney Road, along with the Breese Street and Ovens Street precincts near Anstey Station.
The plans also allow for up to six storeys in dozens of residential backstreets across Brunswick and Coburg.
The Brickworks site is already shaping as a potential flashpoint, with residents concerned that a vacant corner section on Dawson Street could be approved for an apartment building taller than the three heritage chimneys.
The convenor of Save Hoffman Brickworks, Ruth Giles, said this would obscure sight lines of the chimneys.
In Coburg, the planning changes envisage buildings up to 16 storeys near Moreland Station, a site on Sydney Road north of Rennie Street, and a cluster of sites near the Coburg Oval and Bell Street.
Brunswick activity centre draft map
Coburg activity centre draft map
Click on a map to view it full size. Source: Department of Transport and Planning
Releasing the draft maps earlier this month, Premier Jacinta Allan said the aim was to speed up the delivery of more affordable housing in Victoria.
The maps will go through a period of public consultation until October 19.
The changes have been welcomed by YIMBY Melbourne, a lobby group for more housing.
“Allowing more housing in high-demand areas increases housing supply and puts downward pressure on housing costs, which is more crucial than ever in the midst of a housing crisis,” said the group’s Merri-bek co-ordinator Asanka Epa.
“If implemented, thousands more people will get to enjoy the high-amenity areas of Brunswick and Coburg, with great access to services and jobs. The community wants more housing — now it’s time for government to make way for it.”
The Brunswick Residents Network said it was concerned the area’s environmental and historical character and its liveability would be lost under the new plans.
“Recent past planning for Sydney Road corridor was covered by local policy for our existing activity centre with the main aim to keep Brunswick ‘vibrant’ and retain this envied character,” the group said in a statement.
“The state is now attempting to aid more developers to easily get permits by cutting out the process with council and residents.”
BRN said it was “blindsided and perplexed” by the proposed 16-storey height limits on some narrow roads away from Sydney Road, such as around Albert and Thomas streets.
Merri-bek Mayor Helen Davidson said the council wanted to ensure there was adequate infrastructure to support the proposed population growth in Coburg and Brunswick.
Its priority is an improved Upfield railway line by duplicating the track between Gowrie and Upfield stations to increase frequency and reliability.
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