Implementation plans > Growth areas > Appendix > Appendix 1

Appendix 1
Policies and principles to be considered in growth area planning

Activity centres and the Principal Public Transport Network

• Activity centres provide opportunities for services, employment and social interaction in cities and towns. They are where people shop, work, meet, relax and even live. Usually well-served by public transport, they range in size and intensity of use from local neighbourhood strip centres to traditional universities and major regional malls. They are not just shopping centres, they are multifunctional.
• Activity centres will be the focus of major change in metropolitan Melbourne over the next 30 years. Melbourne 2030 provides a new framework for the consideration and planning of activity centres, including a new classification system, increased requirement for structure planning and significant integration of activity centres with public transport through the establishment of the PPTN.
• The growth area review process will examine the long-term potential for new rail stations on existing rail lines at Donnybrook, at a site west of Werribee, and at Lynbrook in the Cranbourne–Pakenham Growth Area, and for development around them.
• The future development of activity centres, including the establishment of new activity centres, will depend on comprehensive planning. Further detail can be found in the draft Implementation Plan 4, Activity Centres.

Local public transport network

• To achieve increased public transport usage, and to enable people to use public transport as a convenient everyday transport option, new residential development and activity centre development will need to be located with easy access to transport networks, both established and proposed.
• Residents in new developments should have early, timely access to public transport, in order to establish long-term sustainable travel patterns, and to reduce dependence on car use.
• Important transport initiatives from Melbourne 2030 that will need to be addressed are:
  • the development of design criteria for public transport services in new development areas
  • ensuring that forward planning for bus stops, routes and interchanges is considered in the early stages of the design process
  • the development of performance standards for safe access to activity centres for pedestrians and cyclists.

Integrated transport plans

• Future development in growth areas will occur on the basis of an integrated transport plan that coordinates road and public transport planning with land-use planning, and that emphasises public transport, cycling and walking. These plans will need to be prepared for each growth area. Integrated transport plans that meet the requirements of Melbourne 2030 have recently been prepared for the growth areas of Whittlesea, and Wyndham, Brimbank and Melton – the Outer Western Integrated Transport Strategy. The cities of Hume and Casey are currently preparing transport plans.

Integrated transport planning for the growth areas will need to provide for:

• setting modal split targets
• managing access and egress
• defining parking requirements
• supporting public transport use
• encouraging access by cyclists and pedestrians.

• Transport planning for each growth area will identify public transport at strategic and regional scale, road and non-motorised travel infrastructure, and any required reservations to provide for long-term (20 years) sustainable development in the growth areas.
• The Government’s strategic vision to increase the proportion of motorised transport trips taken on public transport from 9 per cent to 20 per cent by the year 2020 is outlined in Growing Victoria Together.

Building sustainable neighbourhoods

Neighbourhood character

• Neighbourhood character, an important element in providing a sense of place in a community, is a key element of ResCode. In the process of preparing local structure plans, Growth Area Plans will need to identify valued existing neighbourhood character and urban form, and define a preferred future character for designated residential areas.

Increased densities

• Planning for new urban areas will be based on achieving significant increases in average housing density. At present, in growth areas, this density is around 10 dwellings per hectare. New urban development in growth areas should aim to gradually achieve on average much higher densities in selected locations. The aim is to phase in these strategy measures over the next 10–15 years.
• Planning for new development in metropolitan Melbourne and the surrounding region, and the review of the growth area plans, will require the preparation of Local Housing Strategies, which will include identification of sites able to accommodate increased densities (see draft Implementation Plan 3, Housing).