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The Federal Environment Minister - who also happens to be a Victorian Member of Parliament - released a <a href="http://tenplay.com.au/news/melbourne/2015/10/12/Bid%20for%20a%20Monash%20Fwy%20makeover">wish-list of projects</a> to "fix" Melbourne's congestion which unsurprisingly read like a road-lobbyists cheat sheet, complete with a mention of Melbourne Metro for balance.

Greg Hunt is the member for <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Division_of_Flinders">Flinders</a> which covers the entire Mornington Peninsula, surrounds the shoreline of Western Port and covers both Phillip and French Islands; and it was no surprise the Monash Freeway featured prominently in the ridiculed shopping list of road projects.

In his <a href="http://heraldsun.com.au/news/opinion/greg-hunt-has-crossed-the-line-between-promises-and-political-fantasy-on-victorian-transport-system/story-fni0ffsx-1227567998164">Herald Sun column</a> Jeff Kennett rightly called out the Federal Minister's plan, labelling it political fantasy owing to the lack funding commitments. The Age's state political editor Josh Gordon likewise <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/comment/greg-hunt-is-lost-in-the-detail-of-his-185year-plan-for-melbourne-20151014-gk8re3">opined</a> on Greg Hunt's plan and the <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/k/9/5/3/b/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gk8re3.png/1444868912972.jpg">Spooner cartoon</a> which accompanied the editorial has a nice play on the backstory.

It is unfortunate there are politicians out there who are still flying the flag for the East West Link, when its credibility has been utterly destroyed with the release of its business case after the Andrews Government came to power.

And while I agree with Jeff Kennett that the "plans" are rubbish without any funding commitments, no-one seems to have made mention of <a href="/news/and-on-the-third-day-infrastructure-victoria-was-born">Infrastructure Victoria</a> in all of this.

The Victorian Government established this agency in an attempt to remove the politics of transport infrastructure planning and spending, and the "missing link" project from the Eastern Freeway to the Metropolitan Ring Road (from Greg Hunt's list) is exactly the kind of concept which needs to be studied by Infrastructure Victoria.

If we recall some of the rhetoric that was lavishly reported in the mainstream media on the East West Link, namely that it would act as a high-capacity limited-access road alternative to the Monash/West Gate Freeways, then this should be studied by Infrastructure Victoria along with its costs, benefits, environmental impacts. Just like any other transport project, regardless of mode, going forward.

There is a federal election coming and with the recent Liberal party leadership turmoil, it would be tempting to dismiss these plans as just a Federal MP trying to shore up votes before the election. But then, Greg Hunt's seat is what you would call an ultra-safe Liberal seat, where the two-party preferred result at the last election was 62/38.

It is just rubbish and childish politics, thankfully this is being called out. Josh Gordon sums it well <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/comment/greg-hunt-is-lost-in-the-detail-of-his-185year-plan-for-melbourne-20151014-gk8re3">in his article</a>:

<blockquote>
My guess is both Turnbull and Andrews have worked out just how thoroughly sick people are of hollow rhetoric and political brinkmanship when it comes to infrastructure funding. Indeed, according to Coalition sources, focus group research bears this out.
<cite><a href="http://www.theage.com.au/comment/greg-hunt-is-lost-in-the-detail-of-his-185year-plan-for-melbourne-20151014-gk8re3">Josh Gordon: "Greg Hunt’s Melbourne 2200: on a road to nowhere"</a></cite>
</blockquote>

I wrote the following when the legislation to set up Infrastructure Victoria was passed through Parliament in September:

<blockquote>
Infrastructure Victoria will be required to create a 30-year infrastructure strategy which assesses the current state of infrastructure in the state and identifies Victoria's infrastructure needs and priorities over the 30 year period. Furthermore the legislation requires the Government to provide a formal response to the 30-year strategy by creating and then publishing a five-year infrastructure plan within 12 months of Infrastructure Victoria releasing its 30-year strategy.

The Government's response and five-year plan must also identify the priority projects "including an explanation of how the priority projects will achieve the social, economic and environmental objectives stated in the 30-year infrastructure strategy".
<cite><a href="/news/and-on-the-third-day-infrastructure-victoria-was-born">Alastair Taylor: "And on the third day... Infrastructure Victoria was born"</a></cite>
</blockquote>

The election of the Andrews Government is evidence on how populist infrastructure policies can help you get into power, but when the same group of people establish an agency able to call out future populist infrastructure policies, then it is time to change tactics.

The game has changed and the sooner political strategists realise this, the less foolish the politicians they advise will look.

Lead image credit: Wikipedia.
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Alastair Taylor

Comment: Greg Hunt's "fix list" - nothing to see here

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The Victorian Government today announced the appointment of board members to Infrastructure Victoria, an agency which will be tasked with assessing Victoria's infrastructure needs in an apolitical way.

The distributed media release announced <a href="http://www.infrastructure.org.au/Content/MrJimMiller.aspx">Jim Miller</a> being appointed as the inaugural Chair. Jim Miller was an Executive Director at Macquarie Capital from 1994 to 2015 and has extensive experience in the infrastructure sector. He is currently the Deputy Chair of Infrastructure Partnerships Australia.

<a href="http://www.fsc.org.au/about-us/the-board/director,-maria-wilton.aspx">Maria Wilton</a> is named as Deputy Chair. Maria Wilton is the Managing Director of Franklin Templeton Investments Australia and is a director of the Financial Services Council of Australia and the National Breast Cancer Foundation.

Professor <a href="http://www.monash.edu/about/structure/senior-staff/vice-chancellor/profile">Margaret Gardner</a>, the current President and Vice Chancellor of Monash University as well as <a href="http://www.carnivalaustralia.com/about-us/executive-members/ann-sherry-ao.aspx">Ann Sherry</a>, the former CEO of Westpac New Zealand and the Bank of Melbourne, are also set to join as members of the board.

The secretaries of the <a href="http://www.dpc.vic.gov.au/index.php/about/keystaff">Department of Premier and Cabinet</a>, the <a href="http://www.dtf.vic.gov.au/About/Structure-and-functions/Senior-management">Department of Treasury of Finance</a> and the <a href="http://delwp.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/300719/DELWP-Organisation-Chart-September-2015.pdf">Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning</a> will also join the board.

<h2>Background</h2>

Infrastructure Victoria was set up last month as <a href="/news/and-on-the-third-day-infrastructure-victoria-was-born">reported on Urban.com.au</a>.

One of the new body's tasks is to devise a 30 year infrastructure strategy for Victoria and publicly release it by the end of next year. Apartments.com.au is looking forward to it.
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Spring Street announces inaugural board members for Infrastructure Victoria

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On Grand Final Day the <a href="http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/the-157000-seat-super-stadium-that-never-was/story-fni5ezdm-1227553859565">Herald Sun ran an article</a> about plans from the 1960s which would have seen the now defunct AFL Park - aka Waverley or Arctic Park - see its capacity rise to 157,000 patrons. The numbers are broken down into 126,000 seats and standing room for a further 31,000.

Similarly the plans envisioned space for an eye-popping amount of cars: 25,000. These were truly the glory days of auto-centric thought-bubbles and planning.

You can <a href="http://www.anthonycosta.com.au/content/vfl-park-stadium-never-was">view the brochure</a> which has been scanned by Anthony Costa.

On top of the space for 25,000 car parks there were plans for a 1,150 seat function room, 700 seat restaurant, corporate boxes which could fit 2,200 patrons, another oval as well as indoor swimming, baseball, basketball, athletics and gymnastics facilities and interestingly a 300 capacity bus terminal.

Using the Grand Final as an example and the inevitable "filling up" of the stadium, had the plans gone ahead (and if the stadium was still there!), moving 157,000 people in and out of the site would have been diabolical.

In auto-utopia, 25,000 cars could effectively carry 100,000 of the total 157,000, but the rarity of cars having a passenger in each of its seats spells the end of that idea. There would still be a heavy reliance on public transport.

If we assume the average occupancy of each car would have been a more realistic 2 people, 50,000 would have arrived by car to the stadium, leaving the remaining 107,000 for public transport.

The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1969_Melbourne_Transportation_Plan">1969 Melbourne Transportation Plan</a> which is synonymous with the freeways we now have also saw proposals for the Rowville Rail Line which would have served the site. But even the rail line's capacity to move large amounts of people on days where the stadium would have been filled are dubious.

The original Rowville Line plan - as opposed to the line by the same name many are familiar with which was studied under the previous State Government - would have seen a link between Huntingdale and Ferntree Gully throughout the North/Wellington Road corridor creating an outer suburban loop line.

At the end of 1972 the Hitachi trains were introduced to Melbourne's network and according to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hitachi_(Australian_train)#Configuration">documentation</a> from the early 80s the maximum capacity for these trains was 1500 people.

For simplicity's sake, if the need for trains to interact with existing lines to transport people further beyond the scope of the Rowville line is disregarded, a two track railway out the front of Waverley on Wellington Road using the crush load figures for Hitachi trains would have had capacity to move 30,000 passengers per hour in each direction. And that figure assumes a very high frequency of 20 trains an hour during game / special event times.

In reality the Rowville Rail line would have needed to interact with both the Belgrave line and Dandenong lines (and fight for capacity) thus bringing down the capacity figures further.

If the Rowville line were constructed only as far as Rowville and became a branch of the Dandenong corridor, the passenger movement capacity would have been halved (as there would be no train paths to the Belgrave Line).

Similarly the 300 bay bus terminal would have had capacity to move in the region of 20,000-25,000 people in an hour, if you assume every bus had the same crush capacity as those that do today: 68 passengers per bus.

50,000 by car, 30,000-60,000 by train, 20,000-25,000 people by bus. We're getting closer to 157,000, but not quite yet.

Kudos to the VFL for being bold however it's at this point I'm giving up even attempting to make sense of how people would have been able to get to and from the site with relative ease and without much of a delay on key event days; the "back of the envelope" numbers where I've been overly generous in some cases just don't make sense.

And thankfully, we dodged that 1960s bullet. Contrast it with Tullamarine Airport - the other 1960s/1970s era mega-project - and its lack of public transport access: just yesterday a $1.3 billion project to expand the Tullamarine Freeway and City Link kicked off.

Lead image credit: Herald Sun
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1960s plans for Waverley Park expansion: South East Melbourne dodged a bullet

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Sitting in Moonee Valley City Council's offices last week and looking over the plans for <a href="/news/moonee-ponds-in-the-market-for-some-high-rise-activity">Hall and Margaret streets</a>, it struck me that we are starting to see the same level of developer confidence in Melbourne's suburbs that used to be contained to Southbank back in the 1990s.

Southbank Towers which stands 28 levels high, completed in 1997 and built by ubiquitous Southbank developer Central Equity, was a new milestone for the developer back in the day.

If you peruse <a href="http://www.centralequity.com.au/s_past_projects.php">CE's long list</a> of completed projects, you will see Southbank Towers set a new benchmark in scale for Central Equity which prior to Southbank Towers was building smaller-scale buildings in the inner city on both sides of the Yarra.

<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="450" src="https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m0!3m2!1sen!2sau!4v1443402034680!6m8!1m7!1sZcLlSQmUyz3x_dlyyNinEw!2m2!1d-37.8231592!2d144.9607381!3f151.71915787117135!4f31.37611199527079!5f0.4000000000000002" style="border:0" width="100%"></iframe>

The municipalities of Melbourne, Yarra, Port Phillip, Stonnington and Maribyrnong are referred to the inner sub-region of the previous State Government's Plan Melbourne strategy (from the archives: <a href="/news/how-much-urbanism-will-central-melbourne-need-to-build-by-2031">How much urbanism will central Melbourne need to build by 2031?</a>) and it is no secret these five LGA's are seeing the vast bulk of medium and high density dwellings built.

But as I say when we field requests from other media outlets about Melbourne development data, we really need to pay far more attention to the suburbs.

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/plan_melb_central_subregion_0_0.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="The inner sub-region of Plan Melbourne with the previous Government's proposal for a cross-city rail tunnel"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="399" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/plan_melb_central_subregion_0_0.jpg?itok=LK-83JuD" title="The inner sub-region of Plan Melbourne with the previous Government's proposal for a cross-city rail tunnel" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>The inner sub-region of Plan Melbourne with the previous Government's proposal for a cross-city rail tunnel</figcaption></figure><h2>Why is 20 levels significant?</h2>

For no particular reason other than if we go back over the tall building history of Melbourne to the late 1950s when ICI House was constructed on land outside the CBD.

<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ICI_House">ICI House</a> has 20 levels, was once Australia's tallest building and at the time was the building which made a statement and set the cat amongst the pidgeons in terms of sending buildings even higher, just like Southbank Towers did for residential buildings in Southbank.

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/orica_house.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="ICI House. Image CC BY SA Wikipedia."><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="774" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/orica_house.jpg?itok=DJRpLedD" title="ICI House. Image CC BY SA Wikipedia." width="580"></a>

<figcaption>ICI House. Image CC BY SA Wikipedia.</figcaption></figure><h2>The hills are alive with sound of piling rigs</h2>

Earlier this year we reported on <a href="/news/whitehorse-towers-box-hills-largest-development-approved">Whitehorse Tower's approval</a> and it has since sold out and started construction.

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/img_6632.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="Whitehorse Towers site works in full swing. Image Mark Baljak"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="463" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/img_6632.jpg?itok=FaHyxguH" title="Whitehorse Towers site works in full swing. Image Mark Baljak" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>Whitehorse Towers site works in full swing. Image Mark Baljak.</figcaption></figure>As the suburb's name suggests, Box Hill is an elevated area so when you build a tower, or two in Whitehorse Towers' case - 36 and 26 levels respectively - the towers become more prominent when viewed from a distance. Not to mention I dare say the views from this project will be utterly spectacular.

However when you take a good look at the other development within a one kilometre radius, a development story emerges of a suburb that is not too dissimilar to that of one company's: Central Equity.

We are tracking <a href="/new-apartments/box-hill-vic-3128">21 projects</a> in Box Hill and most are in the four to tweleve level range. Some examples include Chloe, <a href="/buildings/elland-avenue-2-elland-avenue-box-hill">Elland Avenue</a> and <a href="/new-apartments/757-station-street-box-hill">757 Station Street</a>. This is replicated in other major suburban nodes in Melbourne.

<h2>Moonee Ponds: the east can't all have the fun</h2>

As reported earlier this morning, <a href="/news/moonee-ponds-in-the-market-for-some-high-rise-activity">Caydon have lodged plans</a> for two more towers on what's known as the Readings site in Moonee Ponds, the tallest of which punches through the old Melbourne barrier of 20 levels.

Like its 20+ level counterpart in the East, Moonee Ponds is elevated - around 45 metres above sea level - and the area is not without high-rise residential precedent.

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/img_6580_0.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="Caydon's new proposal for Hall Street. Image from Planning Application"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="644" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/img_6580_0.jpg?itok=EnoJhqHN" title="Caydon's new proposal for Hall Street. Image from Planning Application" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>Caydon's new proposal for Hall Street. Image from Planning Application</figcaption></figure>The proposal which is currently before Moonee Valley City Council measures 68 metres and when taking the already elevated position into account, the tower like Whitehorse Towers will act as an anchor in the suburban skyline should it be approved in its current form.

Moonee Valley already has one building complete above the 20 level barrier in Travancore and another under construction opposite Flemington Racecourse, however the Hall Street proposal is first in the elevated section of Moonee Ponds and in its traditional activities district.

<h2>Hills and public transport, a recipe for development confidence?</h2>

The location of both of these suburbs in elevated areas is significant however I would argue there is something far more significant.

Both Moonee Ponds and Box Hill are two of suburban Melbourne's richest "non-rail junction" public transport nodes: they are both simply major stations on single rail lines.

While Box Hill's rail frequency does benefit from the junction-effect of combining rail services into a single line at Ringwood in this case, Moonee Ponds and Box Hill are hubs for all three modes of public transport: heavy rail lines, trams and both boast large bus hubs (although, Box Hill bus hub is <a href="/news/is-it-time-to-reconfigure-the-moonee-ponds-transport-interchange">better connected to heavy rail than Moonee Ponds</a>).

<h2>Where could the 20 level barrier be breached next?</h2>

If I were a betting man, the rail junction suburbs of Melbourne outside the inner city - Dandenong, Caulfield, Ringwood, Camberwell, Newport and Sunshine - are likely to be the next suburbs to stare down the old Melbourne barrier.

Dandenong is ever so close with <a href="/developments/dandenong-vic-3175">Spectra</a> having 17 levels and the suburb has another 22 projects ranging in floor heights from four to twelve. Ringwood is half way there with 10 levels at <a href="/buildings/233-east-233-maroondah-highway-ringwood">233 Maroondah Highway</a>, the suburb has another five projects in the four to eight level floor height range.

Camberwell? Despite its penchant for fostering celebrity NIMBYism, it actually chalks up eleven projects in the three to nine level range.

Caulfield has not reached the heights that Ringwood has as yet in the same region Malvern East has <a href="/buildings/vanguard-781-807-dandenong-road-malvern-east">Vanguard</a> at 18 levels as well as a good mix of four to eight level projects. Sunshine has a sole <a href="/developments/sunshine-vic-3020">nine level building</a> on the database and we are not tracking anything for Newport as yet.
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20 years after Southbank Towers, the suburbs are punching through the 20 level barrier

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It was a one man show on Monday night's <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/tv/qanda/">QandA</a>. The Federal Leader of the Opposition was answering questions from a Ballarat audience and made a curious remark that the Australian Labor Party (ALP) are the public transport party.

Fumbling through a list of large-scale public transport projects around the country, Bill Shorten looked to be in the most uncomfortable position all night.

A follow up question on the feel-good grandiose infrastructure project of the age - high speed rail on the east coast - appeared to make the Leader of the Opposition even more uncomfortable when he appeared to confuse his answer, by talking about how 10 years ago he said the country should build an inland rail line on the western side of the Great Dividing Range. The inland rail project is about moving freight between Victoria and Queensland, high speed rail is getting people out of the air and onto trains.

Is this really the best the public transport party - at least at a Federal level - can muster?

If anything the most blindingly obvious thing to talk up on a national platform is jobs. And public transport, believe it or not, is a big job creator.

Contrast the messaging surrounding public transport to other areas where the ALP lays claim to the political mantle: health and education. You would be hard pressed to find an ALP politician who could not talk about these two policy areas in more detail than Bill Shorten managed to do with public transport on Monday night.

The communications from the ALP playbook in these two areas is as follows: Expansionary education policy = a smarter society with more opportunity. Expansionary health policy = a happier and healthier society. In both cases where the state chooses to spend more money in expanding physical infrastructure - building more schools and building more hospitals - the end result is always the need for more people to work in the two respective sectors.

It is exactly the same in public transport.

Expanding bus routes, which is the best way to rapidly provide high quality public transport in suburban areas, requires more bus drivers. Jobs. Expanding tram / light rail lines requires more drivers. Expanding heavy rail lines requires more drivers. Jobs.

Similarly, it is a manufacturing story in disguise. Remember the car industry? The component manufacturers may well be able to re-tool and re-skill to support an expanding renewable energy sector, as Bill Shorten mentioned in the same QandA session, but there is also the natural segue into onshore public transport vehicle manufacturing.

Health and education is very much in the DNA of the ALP but based on the Federal Leader's performance on Monday night, his relative ease in fumbling points he should have indeed remembered and his inability to connect sustainable transport to an economic narrative ultimately suggests that when it comes to claiming the party of public transport title, the ALP have a long way to go.

Lead image credit: <a href="http://iview.abc.net.au/programs/qanda/FA1407H034S00">ABC iView</a>
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Are the Federal ALP really the 'public transport' party?

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Singaporean developer <a href="/developers/world-class-global">World Class Land</a> has formally appointed Brookfield Multiplex as builder for Australia 108, with on-site piling to commence in October.

The tower will become <a href="/buildings/australia-108-southbank-70-southbank-boulevard-southbank">Melbourne's first super-tall skyscraper</a> measuring 319 metres housing 1,105 apartments over 99 levels. A super-tall skyscraper is a building which measures more 300 metres in height.

<a href="/">Apartments.com.au</a> has learned that construction will have five stages. The first stage of construction is scheduled to be completed in 2018 and the entire building will be completed in 2020.

The construction stages have the following milestones:

<ul>
<li>Stage 1: up to level 40, 491 apartments, to be completed late 2018</li>
	<li>Stage 2: up to level 56, 252 apartments, to be completed mid 2019</li>
	<li>Stage 3: up to level 66, 162 apartments, to be completed mid 2019</li>
	<li>Stage 4: up to level 86, 120 apartments, to be completed early 2020</li>
	<li>Stage 5: up to final level, 80 apartments, to be completed mid 2020</li>
</ul>
Stages 2 and 3 will be complete in different months in mid 2019 and the awarded construction contract is valued at $500 million.

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/aus_108_site_rs.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="Australia 108 site in August. Image Ryan Seychell"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="387" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/aus_108_site_rs.jpg?itok=Ve-I7-vk" title="Australia 108 site in August. Image Ryan Seychell" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>Australia 108 site in August. Image Ryan Seychell</figcaption></figure>
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Brookfield Multiplex appointed builder for Australia 108, piling to commence in October

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Judging by reports observed on various media platforms over the past 24 hours, it seems there are a lot of people and lobbyist groups waiting to tap the new Prime Minister on the shoulder and talk about their cause.

From people hoping for change on issues such as marriage equality and climate change - which Malcolm Turnbull is well known for having a different view from his party - to more traditional lobbyists such as the Australian Chamber of Commerce: <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/sep/15/queues-begin-outside-malcolm-turnbulls-door-to-push-policies">they're everywhere</a>.

It looks like many will be disappointed, at least in the short term. <a href="http://www.malcolmturnbull.com.au/media/transcript-vote-on-the-liberal-party-leadership">In his own words</a>, at a media conference shortly after the leadership ballot result was announced:

<blockquote>
The Prime Minister of Australia is not a president; the Prime Minister is the first among equals. And you can see that the partnership between me and Julie, the partnership with our colleagues will be a very clear cultural demonstration that we are operating in a traditional cabinet manner. And that means Lenore [Guardian Political Editor] that I’m not going to make policy pronouncements from this podium tonight. Of course policies change, they change all the time, but they will be when people should have the confidence that we will be making decisions in a thoughtful and considered manner, recognising the significance of the work we have to do as the Government of Australia.
<cite><a href="http://www.malcolmturnbull.com.au/media/transcript-vote-on-the-liberal-party-leadership">Malcolm Turnbull, September 14, 2015</a></cite>
</blockquote>

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews was quick off the mark, exclaiming on Twitter that he is keen to talk shop with the new Prime Minister. Presumably the 'PT' reference relates to undoing the damage the outgoing Prime Minister caused by his dogmatic approach to funding rail projects in cities.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck">
Congratulations <a href="https://twitter.com/TurnbullMalcolm">@TurnbullMalcolm</a>. Keen to discuss partnering on PT, roads, health, education and jobs for Victoria. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/auspol?src=hash">#auspol</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/springst?src=hash">#springst</a>
— Daniel Andrews (@DanielAndrewsMP) <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://twitter.com/DanielAndrewsMP/status/643397001732747265">September 14, 2015</a>
</blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>It is worth pointing out Malcolm Turnbull's fervent use of public transport will have been saving taxpayers money, that is at least up until today, assuming the Australian Federal Police put the kibosh on him continuing to commute on public transport from this point on. Imagine how much the following trips would have cost had a Government car (or taxi) been used.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none" data-partner="tweetdeck">
<a href="https://twitter.com/Billandbecks">@Billandbecks</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/WickBurner">@WickBurner</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/tweetsyjoy">@tweetsyjoy</a> not so. Two trams yesterday but Monday in sydney was a record - 7 trains <a href="http://t.co/Op1A66r1NK">pic.twitter.com/Op1A66r1NK</a>
— Malcolm Turnbull (@TurnbullMalcolm) <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://twitter.com/TurnbullMalcolm/status/626254767317127168">July 29, 2015</a>
</blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-version="4" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:658px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);"><div style="padding:8px;"> <div style=" background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:50.0% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;"> <div style=" background:url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAAGFBMVEUiIiI9PT0eHh4gIB4hIBkcHBwcHBwcHBydr+JQAAAACHRSTlMABA4YHyQsM5jtaMwAAADfSURBVDjL7ZVBEgMhCAQBAf//42xcNbpAqakcM0ftUmFAAIBE81IqBJdS3lS6zs3bIpB9WED3YYXFPmHRfT8sgyrCP1x8uEUxLMzNWElFOYCV6mHWWwMzdPEKHlhLw7NWJqkHc4uIZphavDzA2JPzUDsBZziNae2S6owH8xPmX8G7zzgKEOPUoYHvGz1TBCxMkd3kwNVbU0gKHkx+iZILf77IofhrY1nYFnB/lQPb79drWOyJVa/DAvg9B/rLB4cC+Nqgdz/TvBbBnr6GBReqn/nRmDgaQEej7WhonozjF+Y2I/fZou/qAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;"></div>
</div> <a href="https://instagram.com/p/7dn7ERMqPL/" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_top">Flinders Street station magnificent in the dawn.</a> <p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A photo posted by turnbullmalcolm (@turnbullmalcolm) on <time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime="2015-09-10T20:06:06+00:00">Sep 10, 2015 at 1:06pm PDT</time>
</div></blockquote>
<script async defer src="//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js"></script><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck">
And here comes today's tram - the number 70 to take us to Hawthorn and a morning with <a href="https://twitter.com/JoshFrydenberg">@JoshFrydenberg</a> <a href="http://t.co/zeGCmct6nj">pic.twitter.com/zeGCmct6nj</a>
— Malcolm Turnbull (@TurnbullMalcolm) <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://twitter.com/TurnbullMalcolm/status/642070078083608576">September 10, 2015</a>
</blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>Regular users of Twitter, Facebook or Instagram may have stumbled on Malcolm Turnbull's posts, where the new Prime Minister is frequently pictured on public transport or snapping away in our cities.

In the newest mass online media outlet, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/2015/08/24/malcolm-turnbull-train_n_8035068">The Huffington Post Australia</a>, an article published in August has an interesting take on the new Prime Minister's tendency to immerse himself in our cities; "for a guy with a personal wealth estimated in the tens of millions, it's admirable to see him slogging it out on the train with the rest of us".

Attempting to heap praise on Turnbull because he is wealthy but mingles with "the rest of us" on public transport is infantile, and unfortunately is another example where public transport systems are popularly perceived as systems for charity when that proposition <a href="http://www.ptua.org.au/myths/rich.shtml">could not be further from the truth.</a>

Centralised city planning from Canberra is not going to happen with a Liberal/National Government in power, however it is a welcome change that the new Prime Minister is an urbanist and has a deep interest in public transport and our cities more generally, unlike his predecessor.

After the dust has settled, the challenge for Malcolm Turnbull will be to make his penchant for urbanism somehow channel into a cities narrative - and have it rub off on federal Liberals - so as we are never confronted with a right-wing anti-city Prime Minister like Tony Abbott ever again.

Lead image credit: <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://twitter.com/TurnbullMalcolm/status/563147272515358720">Malcolm Turnbull on Twitter</a>.
</body></html>

Australia now has an urbanist Prime Minister

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The City of Melbourne has released its draft City Road master plan and published a plethora of documents on its <a href="http://participate.melbourne.vic.gov.au/city-road">Participate Melbourne</a> website.

The proposed changes include introducing planted median strips in the Kings Way to Power Street section of City Road and in Alexandra Avenue. Slip lanes at the major intersection of City Road and Southbank Boulevard look set to get the chop and there are 3 new pedestrian crossings proposed at Clarke Street, Balston Street; and on Alexandra Avenue to provide a higher quality link between the Alexandra and Queen Victoria gardens.

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/cityrd-masterplan-proposed-changes.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="Proposed changes to City Road. Map from Participate Melbourne"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="398" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/cityrd-masterplan-proposed-changes.jpg?itok=-I5th8EQ" title="Proposed changes to City Road. Map from Participate Melbourne" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>Proposed changes to City Road. Map from Participate Melbourne</figcaption></figure>The intersection of Moray Street / Queensbridge Street / City Road (with Kings Way flying over the top) - which once had a proposal to have a roundabout installed dubbed 'Southbank circus' - is set to see improved pedestrian crossings. There is a proposal to reimagine the space in the Kings Way undercroft and likewise the pedestrian crossings on the Southbank Boulevard / City Road intersection are set to be improved thanks to the removal of the slip lanes.

The intersection with Sturt Street, City Road and Southgate Avenue is set to see improvements as well.

A major pan-Southbank cycling route is also proposed with cyclists being funneled toward St Kilda Road (coming from the south west) via City Road to Balston Street, then along Kavanagh Street and Southbank Boulevard.

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/city_rd_west_existing.png" rel="gallery-all" title="City Road west, existing street cross-section. Image Participate Melbourne"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="336" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/city_rd_west_existing.png?itok=pBay-GWr" title="City Road west, existing street cross-section. Image Participate Melbourne" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>City Road west, existing street cross-section. Image Participate Melbourne</figcaption></figure>The western end of City Road is proposed to have a somewhat noteworthy road reconfiguration with a reduction in footpath width along the northern side, the removal of parking on the southern side and the introduction of fully separated bike lanes and bus/transit lanes.

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/city_rd_west_proposed.png" rel="gallery-all" title="City Road west, proposed street cross-section. Image Participate Melbourne"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="334" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/city_rd_west_proposed.png?itok=tXk8MMF-" title="City Road west, proposed street cross-section. Image Participate Melbourne" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>City Road west, proposed street cross-section. Image Participate Melbourne</figcaption></figure>At the intersection of Sturt Street and City Road a new pedestrian bridge is proposed to enhance connectivity between St Kilda Road and City Road as well as the River. A new ramp from St Kilda Road, located to the southside of Hamer Hall, <a href="http://participate.melbourne.vic.gov.au/city-road#btn-action-4">is also proposed</a>.

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/city_rd_st_kilda_rd.png" rel="gallery-all" title="A screenshot from Participate Melbourne of the proposed pedestrian link over City Road"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="208" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/city_rd_st_kilda_rd.png?itok=g51syW8b" title="A screenshot from Participate Melbourne of the proposed pedestrian link over City Road" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>A screenshot from Participate Melbourne of the proposed pedestrian link over City Road</figcaption></figure>All in all 40 on street car spaces are set to be removed, located mainly up the western end of City Road and draft master plan predicts the main car journey impacts will be limited to an extra two minutes in travel time for westbound journeys in the AM peak.

The <a href="http://participate.melbourne.vic.gov.au/city-road#btn-benefits">primary benefits</a> according to the draft master plan include reduced walking distances between pedestrian crossings on City Road (average distances reduced from 240m to 170m), 9,000 square metres of new public space, 1,280 square metres of new footpath space, a net gain of 108 new trees and three upgraded bus and tram stops.

The City of Melbourne will be running walking tours where participants will be able to find out more about the proposed actions in the draft master plan on Wednesday 30th September between 5:15pm and 6pm, Thursday 8th October between 1pm and 1:45pm and on Saturday 10th October between 10:30am and 11:15am. Participants need to RSVP on the Participate Melbourne website and the tours will depart from Southbank Library.

To view the draft master plan and provide your own feedback on the draft master plan, visit the <a href="http://participate.melbourne.vic.gov.au/city-road#overview">Participate Melbourne website</a>.

Lead image credit: Participate Melbourne.
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City of Melbourne releases draft City Road master plan

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Premier Daniel Andrews and Treasurer Tim Pallas have earlier this morning announced that work is set to start on two level crossing removal projects which were previously foreshadowed in June.

The alliance comprising Leighton Contractors, Aurecon and Hyder Consulting have been formally awarded the contract for level crossing removals at Blackburn Road in Blackburn, Heatherdale Road in Mitcham and Furlong and Main roads in St. Albans.

<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="450" src="https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m0!3m2!1sen!2sau!4v1441667331524!6m8!1m7!1s_3C5TgPAvVL8T53uZ-1Dxw!2m2!1d-37.7441826!2d144.7995151!3f155.31287563945853!4f-1.5376843491907266!5f1.4340163937942116" style="border:0" width="100%"></iframe>

A media release distributed by the Victorian Government states that works at Main Road and Furlong Road are expected to begin by October and will be completed in 2017. The removal of Blackburn Road and Heatherdale Road level crossings is set to start later this year and will take 12-18 months to complete.

The Main Road project will see a new St. Albans station built and the Furlong Road project will see a new Ginifier station rebuilt and moved closer to Furlong Road.

The media release provides a more precise cost figure for the total value of construction of the 4 project sites, $481.2 million, and reiterates the Victorian Government has fully funded the Blackburn Road, Heatherdale Road and Furlong Road projects and the Main Road removal project is jointly funded by the State and Federal Governments.

<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="450" src="https://www.google.com/maps/embed?pb=!1m0!3m2!1sen!2sau!4v1441675782747!6m8!1m7!1sVj49hBlFAcI3CEsS1fWY6A!2m2!1d-37.7603226!2d144.8117166!3f333.9703258662817!4f-5.2706638250402875!5f0.7820865974627469" style="border:0" width="100%"></iframe>

<h2>Level crossing removals announced to date</h2>

The Dandenong corridor:

<ul>
<li>Grange Road, Carnegie.</li>
	<li>Koornang Road, Carnegie - includes rebuilding Carnegie station.</li>
	<li>Murrumbeena Road, Murrumbeena - includes rebuilding Murrumbeena station.</li>
	<li>Poath Road, Murrumbeena - includes rebuilding Hughesdale station.</li>
	<li>Clayton Road, Clayton - includes rebuilding Clayton station.</li>
	<li>Centre Road, Clayton.</li>
	<li>Corrigan Road, Noble Park.</li>
	<li>Heatherton Road, Noble Park.</li>
	<li>Chandler Road, Noble Park.</li>
</ul>
Expressions of interest were being sought in June, total value, designs and contractors not yet announced.

The Frankston Line:

<ul>
<li>North Road, Ormond - includes rebuilding Ormond station.</li>
	<li>McKinnon Road, McKinnon - includes rebuilding McKinnon station.</li>
	<li>Centre Road, Bentleigh - includes rebuilding Bentleight station.</li>
</ul>
The Glen Waverley Line:

<ul>
<li>Burke Road, Glen Iris - includes rebuilding Gardiner station.</li>
</ul>
Contracts for these four level crossing removals were awarded to a consortium which comprises John Holland and KBR. $524 million and complete by 2018.

The Ringwood corridor:

<ul>
<li>Blackburn Road, Blackburn.</li>
	<li>Heatherdale Road, Mitcham - includes rebuilding Heatherdale station.</li>
</ul>
The Sunbury Line

<ul>
<li>Furlong Road, St. Albans - includes rebuilding Ginifer station.</li>
	<li>Main Road, St. Albans - includes rebuilding St. Albans station.</li>
</ul>
Contracts awarded to an alliance of Leighton Contractors, Aurecon and Hayder Consulting. $481.2 million. St. Albans projects starting in October, Blackburn and Mitcham projects starting later this year.

Lead image credit: <a href="https://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/planning-and-projects/melbourne-road-projects/main-road-st-albans-level-crossing-removal">Vicroads</a>
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Work to start on level crossing removals in St. Albans

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While you were sleeping on Friday night, the Victorian Government gazetted new interim planning controls for the CBD and parts of Southbank, chief among them is the re-introduction of site plot ratios. A media release distributed at midday on Saturday states the City of Melbourne has been made a referral authority, after the council signed a memorandum of understanding with the Victorian Government.

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/central_city_study_area.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="The Central City Study Area. Image supplied"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="413" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/central_city_study_area.jpg?itok=9EsVqJAe" title="The Central City Study Area. Image supplied" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>The Central City Study Area. Image supplied</figcaption></figure>All development applications arriving on the Planning Minister's desk before Friday will be assessed under the regime existing prior to the interim controls coming into effect. This means all projects shown in this video distributed by the Victorian Government will not be subject to newly gazetted interim controls.

<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RUTnLb0udRY" width="100%"></iframe>

<h2>Setbacks and plot ratios</h2>

The <a href="http://www.gazette.vic.gov.au/gazette/Gazettes2015/GG2015S256.pdf">Government Gazette from Friday night</a> states that the City of Melbourne Planning Scheme has been amended with the following:

<ul>
<li>A new <a href="http://planningschemes.dpcd.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/283512/43_02s10_melb.pdf">Schedule 10 to Clause 43.02</a> has been inserted to the Design and Development Overlay.

	<ul>
<li>Buildings up to or equal to 100 metres in height will require a tower setback of minimum five metres to all boundaries or from the centre of a laneway above the podium.</li>
		<li>Buildings above 100 metres in height will require tower setbacks to be the equivalent of five per cent of the building's overall height, and likewise these tower setbacks will be required to all boundaries or from the centre of a laneway above the podium height.</li>
		<li>A plot ratio requirement of 24:1 has been added.</li>
	</ul>
</li>
</ul>
A plot ratio - or <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floor_area_ratio">FAR (Floor area ratio)</a> - is a tool which relates to Gross Floor Area and prescribes the maximum density allowable for a development site. By way of an example, alongside other new controls as outlined in the link section below, a 1,000 square metre site in Melbourne's CBD will now only be permitted to have up to 24,000 square metres of Gross Floor Area.

The following image was distributed by the Victorian Government on Saturday showing the pre-interim control conditions in central Melbourne. No matter which way you look at it, the new plot ratio requirements appear to be very generous when compared to other cities which use them.

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/qfgottlaogo0_pzgkrhpsvwiorlo9b8op0zw3brtpam.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="Melbourne's central area now has an interim plot ratio of 24:1"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="435" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/qfgottlaogo0_pzgkrhpsvwiorlo9b8op0zw3brtpam.jpg?itok=rfwuPt1p" title="Melbourne's central area now has an interim plot ratio of 24:1" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>Melbourne's central area now has an interim plot ratio of 24:1</figcaption></figure><ul>
<li>A <a href="http://planningschemes.dpcd.vic.gov.au/schemes/melbourne/ordinance/66_04s_melb.pdf">schedule to Clause 66.04</a> has been amended to add the City of Melbourne as a recommending referral authority.</li>
	<li>
<a href="http://planningschemes.dpcd.vic.gov.au/schemes/melbourne/ordinance/37_04s01_melb.pdf">Clause 7 in Schedule 1 to the Capital City Zone</a> deals with the prohibition of "overshadowing the northern bank of the Yarra, 15 metres from its edge and any open space at Federation Square, City Square, and the State Library Forecourt between 11am and 2pm from 22nd of March to 22nd September".
	<ul>
<li>Clause 7 likewise introduces a wind analysis requirement.</li>
	</ul>
</li>
	<li>
<a href="http://planningschemes.dpcd.vic.gov.au/schemes/melbourne/ordinance/37_04s02_melb.pdf">Clause 3 in Schedule 2 to the Capital City Zone</a> prohibits the construction of "footbridges, pedestrian ways, vehicle bridges and links across the above ground level of Bourke Street, Collins Street, Swanston Street and Elizabeth Street".
	<ul>
<li>Clause 3 likewise states that "a permit is required to construct a building or construct or carry out works which would cast a shadow between 11am and 2pm on 22nd March and 22 September over public space, public parks and gardens, public squares, major pedestrian routes including streets and lanes, and privately owned plazas open to the public. A permit may only be granted if the responsible authority considers the overshadowing will not prejudice the amenity of those areas".</li>
	</ul>
</li>
	<li>
<a href="http://planningschemes.dpcd.vic.gov.au/schemes/melbourne/ordinance/37_04s03_melb.pdf">Clause 6 in Schedule 3 to the Capital City Zone</a> prohibits "the construction of buildings and works which would cast any additional shadow across the Shrine of Remembrance and its northern forecourt between 11am and 4pm on 22nd September".</li>
</ul>
<h2>Discretionary height limits become mandatory</h2>

Schedules 2, 7, 40, 60 and 62 to the Design and Development Overlay deal with previous discretionary height controls now being mandatory.

<ul>
<li>
<a href="http://planningschemes.dpcd.vic.gov.au/schemes/melbourne/ordinance/43_02s02_melb.pdf">Clause 2 in Schedule 2 to the Design and Development Overlay</a> outlines the maximum building heights in prescribed areas such as Chinatown, around St. Paul's Cathedral, Town Hall and Parliament.

	<ul>
<li>The maximum permissible heights vary between 15 metres in the Hardware Lane area up to 80 metres for areas along Bourke Street.</li>
	</ul>
</li>
	<li>
<a href="http://planningschemes.dpcd.vic.gov.au/schemes/melbourne/ordinance/43_02s07_melb.pdf">Clause 2 in Schedule 7 to the Design and Development Overlay</a> outlines the maximum building heights in the Northbank Promenade and Batman Park area.</li>
	<li>
<a href="http://planningschemes.dpcd.vic.gov.au/schemes/melbourne/ordinance/43_02s40_melb.pdf">Clause 2 in Schedule 40 to the Design and Development Overlay</a> outlines the maximum building heights in the River Environs.
	<ul>
<li>The design objectives for this schedule relate to "maintaining the existing low-scale river edge urban form along the river corridor" and the maximum height has been set at six storeys.</li>
	</ul>
</li>
	<li>
<a href="http://planningschemes.dpcd.vic.gov.au/schemes/melbourne/ordinance/43_02s60_melb.pdf">Clause 2 in Schedule 60 to the Design and Development Overlay</a> relates to height limits in various areas of Southbank.
	<ul>
<li>The applicable areas in the CBD &amp; Southbank context are around the Arts Centre, Sturt Street, Wells Street and Dorcas Street.</li>
	</ul>
</li>
	<li>
<a href="http://planningschemes.dpcd.vic.gov.au/schemes/melbourne/ordinance/43_02s62_melb.pdf">Clause 2 in Schedule 62 to the Design and Development Overlay</a> is dedicated to Bourke Hill and the heights for that precinct.</li>
</ul>
<a href="http://planningschemes.dpcd.vic.gov.au/schemes/melbourne/ordinance/22_lpp01_melb.pdf">Ordinance 22.01 (Urban design within the Capital City Zone)</a> is probably where all architects will want to head to straight away and rounding out the mass-linkage of all the amended documents is <a href="http://planningschemes.dpcd.vic.gov.au/schemes/melbourne/ordinance/22_lpp02_melb.pdf">Ordinance 22.02 (Sunlight to public spaces)</a>.

<h2>A year of consultation and review</h2>

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/proposed_planning_response.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="Key topic areas which will be a focus in the upcoming central city planning review. Image supplied"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="435" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/proposed_planning_response.jpg?itok=6kPRGUt-" title="Key topic areas which will be a focus in the upcoming central city planning review. Image supplied" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>Key topic areas which will be a focus in the upcoming central city planning review. Image supplied</figcaption></figure>2016 is set to be an even busier year in the planning world for Central Melbourne. Fishermans Bend's review and now the CBD and Southbank's own planning review are set to be completed and published. Likewise, according to details embedded in a referral posted on the <a href="http://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/epbc/epbc_ap.pl?name=referral_detail&amp;proposal_id=7549">Federal Government's Department of Environment website</a>, Melbourne Metro will have its planning and environmental assessment complete.

Based on reports in other media and the Victorian Government-supplied image above, we should expect to hear a lot about equitable development opportunities and density bonuses in the coming review period.

Urban.com.au is interested to hear reaction from all sectors of the urban development industry, academia, the public sector and other stakeholders. We encourage to send your comments to <a href="mailto:editor@urban.melbourne">editor@urban.melbourne</a>. Received comments will not be attributed to the source should we decide to use them in a future article. If any individual wishes to go on the record, we may invite them to write an op-ed.

Lead image credit: <a href="http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=125998143&amp;postcount=3437">GlennWilson</a>
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Interim Central Melbourne planning controls: the detail

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/sunland-group">Sunland Group</a> has officially lodged plans for its first Gold Coast apartment project since the departure of the Abedian family from the company three years ago, unveiling a new high-rise proposal for a prominent Broadbeach corner site on Old Burleigh Road.

The application was submitted by an entity directed by Tom Jamieson, stepson of longtime Sunland leader Soheil Abedian, and Riaz Rezvanipour, brother-in-law of Sahba Abedian, Soheil’s son.

Sunland acquired the 1,283 sqm site on the corner of Old Burleigh Road and Armrick Avenue for $9.5 million late last year and is now seeking approval for a <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/99-101-old-burleigh-road-broadbeach-qld-4218">42-storey tower with 81 apartments</a>.

<img alt="First look: Sunland Group returns to Broadbeach with new Old Burleigh Road tower plans" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="fea2946d-90ee-4cfc-babe-2a8ad5db2cb6" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/pers.png?VersionId=BV0fihJw31nDIQ8ozY_h3GbS8mxDyhnm" />

Designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/contreras-earl-architecture">Contreras Earl Architecture</a>, the proposed tower at 99-101 Old Burleigh Road would deliver a predominantly larger-format apartment mix aimed at the owner-occupier market. Plans include 17 two-bedroom apartments, 55 three-bedroom apartments, and nine four-bedroom residences across 35 residential levels.

The development also incorporates three basement levels, four podium parking levels, two levels of communal recreation facilities, and rooftop plant and equipment. A total of 189 car spaces are proposed, significantly exceeding the 90 spaces required under the planning scheme.

The architecture adopts a sculpted, curvilinear form, with deep wraparound balconies and integrated landscaping intended to soften the tower’s vertical expression. The planning report states the building’s “slender footprint/form provides a complimentary yet varied built form within the local streetscape” and contributes to “a varied, yet ordered skyline.”

Contreras Earl noted in its Architectural Statement that from the early stages, the project addressed a fundamental challenge: how to accommodate the required residential yield while avoiding the conventional model of a tower sitting on a rigid, fully resolved parking podium.

“The most direct response would have been to consolidate parking into a singular, flat podium and extrude a repetitive tower above,” the statement said. “While efficient, this approach would result in a consolidated built form with limited engagement with the surrounding landscape and public realm.”

Instead, the conventional podium model was “deliberately rejected”. The architects described the base of the building as “a landscaped architectural condition where structure, planting and circulation are integrated”.

“Rather than presenting a continuous built mass, the base of the building is articulated through a series of concrete planter elements that organise the podium into a fragmented system,” the statement said. “This approach reduces the perceived bulk of the lower levels while establishing a more permeable interface with the streetscape and adjacent open space.”

<img alt="Sunland" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="923fad8d-c960-4527-8fbe-975cf1ddf88d" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-05-25%20at%2010.32.03%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=pngwb0hYOIUpq9vDw6F2EsOiVuHF3DiX" />

&nbsp;

The site sits within the High Density Residential Zone and inside the City of Gold Coast’s unrestricted “HX” building height area, where the planning framework anticipates intensified residential development tied to the expanding light rail corridor. The planning report notes the area is undergoing “transition toward more intense development forms” given its proximity to Broadbeach, Surfers Paradise, and high-frequency public transport infrastructure.

Positioned directly opposite Broadbeach Park and within walking distance of Florida Gardens light rail station, the development would sit among a rapidly evolving stretch of Old Burleigh Road that has become one of the Gold Coast’s most active apartment development corridors.

The application joins a growing pipeline of luxury residential projects reshaping Broadbeach, including nearby developments by 5Point Projects, Polycell, and Graya.

The planning report argues the project contributes toward the Gold Coast’s long-term housing targets under the South East Queensland Regional Plan, which forecasts the need for more than 100,000 additional high-rise dwellings across the city by 2046.

<section data-scroll-anchor="false" data-testid="conversation-turn-4" data-turn="assistant" data-turn-id="request-WEB:84a2af5e-d7cf-4ddf-922a-f4d44d6c6caa-1" data-turn-id-container="request-WEB:84a2af5e-d7cf-4ddf-922a-f4d44d6c6caa-1" dir="auto">
The Abedian family departed Sunland Group in late 2023, ending a four-decade association with the company, and subsequently established the private development firm Abedian &amp; Co. The group is currently delivering <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/greenmount-residences-cnr-hill-street-and-marine-parade-coolangatta-qld-4225">Greenmount Residences</a> at Rainbow Bay and recently launched <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/18-mary-avenue-14-18-mary-avenue-broadbeach-qld-4218">18 Mary Avenue</a> in Broadbeach.
</section>

Joel Robinson

First look: Sunland Group returns to Broadbeach new apartment market with new Old Burleigh Road tower plans

The Minns Labor Government has established the new Bays West Delivery Authority to lead the development&nbsp;of the Bays West Precinct and Blackwattle Bay Precinct.&nbsp;

The Authority is charged with creating Sydney’s newest precinct, a thriving, connected, sustainable hub with White Bay Power Station as its cultural heart. Its vision is to build on the area’s natural, cultural and industrial history to shape a vibrant new neighbourhood.

The precinct will deliver up to 8,500 well-located homes, including a minimum of 10 per cent affordable and essential worker homes. Combine new housing with public open space, opening public access to the waterfront for the first time in more than 100 years, while retaining important deep-water facilities to support Sydney’s working harbour.

Located just minutes from the Sydney CBD and connected to a world-class metro, ferry, walking and cycling links, the Bays West precinct will rebalance housing growth towards well-serviced inner-city locations and help tackle the state’s housing crisis.

The Bays West Delivery Authority,&nbsp;an agency of the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure, will report to the NSW Minister for Lands and Property who already has oversight of major precinct renewal projects including at Blackwattle Bay and Barangaroo.

As part of the broader Bays West transformation, the Minns Government recently announced that a proposal from Lendlease to redevelop part of the Bays West Precinct has progressed to Stage 2 of the NSW Government’s unsolicited proposals process.

<img alt="Sydney" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="2ed71eb9-d8e8-4fa7-b9d1-de4531dcf2f3" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-05-25%20at%209.42.31%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=IDryFIbped9SNDg72LEN_EecvhUsOPvp" />

The Minns Labor Government has also confirmed the Bays West precinct will have a new suburb name. This will be the first major suburb built in close proximity to Sydney’s CBD in decades and will encompass the area currently being referred to as Bays West, including Glebe Island and the White Bay Power Station. Served by a new Metro station just five minutes from the CBD, it will become one of the most populous suburbs in the Inner West and one of Sydney’s premier cultural destinations.

An early works program is taking shape, which&nbsp;includes the first stages of an international design competition.&nbsp;

The aim of the Bays West&nbsp;International&nbsp;Design Competition is to&nbsp;ensure design excellence is embedded in the project from the start. The competition will deliver an&nbsp;urban framework that defines the character, ambition and long-term identity of&nbsp;this&nbsp;former industrial precinct as it transitions to a vibrant, inclusive and sustainable residential&nbsp;neighbourhood.

The competition will be led by the Bays West Delivery Authority in partnership with Government Architect NSW.&nbsp;

It will launch with an invitation for a global Expressions of Interest, before moving to an invitation-only stage that will be assessed by a panel that&nbsp;will provide advice to Cabinet who will select a winner.

Premier of NSW, Chris Minns said the establishment of the new Authority is the first step in transforming the Bays West precinct into a vibrant, livable suburb minutes from the Sydney CBD and two stops from Hunter St Station on the Metro West line.

“The Authority will deliver well-located homes close to the heart of the city and integrate the new precinct with Blackwattle Bay and the new Sydney Fish Market.

“This is a generational opportunity to build a new suburb on the city’s edge and open the harbour foreshore to the public for the first time in a century.”&nbsp;

Minister for Lands and Property Steve Kamper said the new Bays West Delivery Authority established by the Minns Government will turbocharge the development of Sydney’s newest suburb.

“The Authority is working at a record pace to deliver an international design competition, planning pathways and a financial model so that this development benefits Sydney with well-designed homes in a central location, close to public transport, jobs, entertainment and essential services.

“If we want Sydney to stay liveable and affordable, we need to be bold about using underutilised government-owned land to deliver homes for the future while making sure essential working harbour functions can be accommodated.”

Bays West Delivery Authority established to "turbocharge" Sydney’s newest suburb

Around 400 additional homes could be built at Southwark Grounds on Port Road, lifting total site capacity from 1300 to around 1700 dwellings.

A recently approved code amendment would allow apartment towers of up to 14 storeys in some areas of Renewal SA’s redevelopment of the former West End Brewery.

Renewal SA Acting Chief Executive Shane Wingard said he welcomed the code amendment, with the increase in heights and homes making a positive impact on the supply of high-quality, well-connected housing close to the city.

“By going higher across some parts of Southwark Grounds, we are adding a substantial number of very well-located homes with little impact on project delivery time or planned open space,” Mr Wingard said.

Since the project officially launched in 2025, Mr Wingard said more than 12,000 enquiries had been received about living at Southwark Grounds.

“The very strong early interest we’ve seen since homes were first released in the precinct reinforces our plans to create more housing opportunities,” he said.

The Southwark Grounds code amendment was launched in December last year, with community engagement undertaken over five weeks from January.

It proposed increasing maximum building heights from eight to 14 storeys on the eastern section of Southwark Grounds, and to 12 storeys across the remainder of the site, with minimum building heights ranging from two to four storeys.

The code amendment was implemented through an Early Commencement policy in late January, allowing developers to quickly explore the viability of increased height and housing yield while other planning processes continue.

One of the first developers delivering apartment sites have already finalised redesigns to increase the number of apartments following the code amendment.

Samaras’ development adjacent to the future Colonel Light Park is now planning to deliver 125 apartments across 11 storeys, significantly greater than original plans of around 50 apartments across four storeys.

The developer is also exploring the potential for additional affordable housing outcomes.

Most of the apartments at Southwark Grounds will be delivered within a master-planned precinct on a large parcel of land on the eastern portion of the site, covering around two-thirds of its 8.4 hectares.

Wingard said detailed precinct planning over the coming months may identify further opportunities to increase yield further that could see total apartment numbers at Southwark Grounds, exceed this number.

Affordable homes at Southwark Grounds will also see a net increase, with Renewal SA maintaining its commitment to a minimum of 20 per cent affordable housing across the development.

&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Civil works have begun across the site, with construction under way on the first new roads surrounding a townhouse precinct in the south‑west corner of Southwark Grounds. This includes Renewal SA’s 17 Founder’s Row homes, which are on track for completion by Christmas.

“We expect to have people living at Southwark Grounds by the end of the year, so delivering roads and public spaces for those residents is among our highest priorities.”

Construction of 40 townhouses off Anderson Street, known as West Village and being delivered by Contour, is forecast to begin in mid‑2026. Kolabb’s Anderson Lane development will follow shortly after, delivering a further 26 townhouses.

Southwark Grounds is a state government‑led urban renewal project now set to deliver around 1,700 homes over the next decade.

Homes will be supported by a supermarket, a range of retail and hospitality offerings anchored by a revitalised Walkerville Brew Tower, a childcare centre, car parking and well‑connected public spaces.

400 new homes planned for Adelaide's former West End Brewery site

Brisbane developer&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/cavcorp">Cavcorp</a> has lodged plans for a new mixed-use residential development at <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/55-wyandra-street-teneriffe-qld-4005">55 Wyandra Street</a>, Teneriffe, anchored by an 85-metre public laneway designed to reconnect the suburb’s riverfront with the Gasworks precinct.

The buildings, known as Teneriffe House and Teneriffe Lane, would replace the existing Queensland Cotton head office site with a 15-storey residential tower transitioning to eight storeys toward Helen Street. The project has been designed by Plazibat Architects and lodged as a code assessable development application for 93 apartments across a 3,401 sqm mixed-use site within the Newstead and Teneriffe Waterfront neighbourhood plan.

Central to the scheme is the transformation of an existing service easement into a publicly accessible cross-block connection linking Wyandra and Helen Streets. Cavcorp says the new laneway will act as both a pedestrian shortcut and a landscaped civic space between the Teneriffe Riverwalk, ferry terminal, and Gasworks precinct.

<img alt="First Look: Cavcorp unveils Teneriffe House and Teneriffe Lane plans for landmark wellness tower in Teneriffe" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="26e7f058-b065-4de8-b13d-a2b8cb64dfcc" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/bldg.png?VersionId=sELS0ZKYi361oYipUa1BIKfe_.DLZoFV" />

“The revised proposal delivers a legacy public-realm cross-block link, permanently secured for community use, transforming an existing private easement into a safe, high-quality pedestrian connection between the Teneriffe heritage riverwalk and the Gasworks–Long Island precinct,” the planning report states.

The laneway will sit beneath a large subtropical loggia integrated into the podium levels of the development. The design incorporates deep landscaping, water gardens, lobby spaces, business lounges, and ground-floor apartments to create what Cavcorp describes as a climate-responsive “urban verandah.”

The tower itself has been designed as a slender form with recessed floorplates and curved translucent corners inspired by contemporary Japanese architecture. The building height aligns with the Commercial Road precinct controls, which permit towers up to 15 storeys within proximity to Longland Street.

<img alt="First Look: Cavcorp unveils Teneriffe House and Teneriffe Lane plans for landmark wellness tower in Teneriffe" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="a8a17d40-43b6-4718-b3fd-67676fcbb485" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/pers%202_1.png?VersionId=i3VwDtp5AmL_8InW7w4qRbDFEpb744Jt" />

The project will comprise a mix of larger-format apartments aimed at owner-occupiers, downsizers, and families. The proposed apartment mix includes 11 loggia apartments across the lower levels, 50 four-bedroom Sky-Terrace apartments from levels three to seven, and 32 Sky-Pool Homes occupying the upper tower levels. The Sky-Pool Homes will feature private thermal plunge pools integrated into oversized balconies.

According to the application, the apartments are intended to reinterpret the scale and character of Teneriffe’s woolstore conversions and Queensland homes within a vertical residential format.

“The sky-pool homes build on Cavcorp’s previous projects and introduce a distinct apartment typology to Teneriffe, informed by both local and international precedent and responding to an identified market demand for enhanced safety, space and amenity,” the planning submission notes.

A major focus of the proposal is its five-level wellness and lifestyle offering, extending from the basement through to the rooftop.

Amenities proposed include a rooftop Swim &amp; Racquet Club with a 25-metre Olympic lap pool and tennis court, coworking spaces and libraries, golf simulators, wine storage, concierge facilities, business lounges, pet wash areas, and rooftop longevity-focused wellness spaces with spas, outdoor fitness zones, and landscaped terraces.

<img alt="First Look: Cavcorp unveils Teneriffe House and Teneriffe Lane plans for landmark wellness tower in Teneriffe" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="944b352c-49b9-4247-a4c6-5967b4b69fda" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/amenity.png?VersionId=Ed_qKjAtMwFT.5gfl3jiA9QwdWxSMsaX" />

All parking will be concealed within basement levels accessed from Wyandra and Helen Streets. Cavcorp says the deep-basement engineering approach allows the entire ground plane to prioritise landscaping, pedestrian movement, and active frontage rather than vehicle infrastructure.

The development continues Cavcorp’s concentration in Newstead and Teneriffe, where the Brisbane developer has delivered a number of apartment projects including Lucent, Le Bain, and Luminare, as well as the Long Island Wellness Precinct nearby. Several of those projects have received national design and architecture awards, including recognition under Brisbane’s “Buildings that Breathe” program.

Cavcorp unveils wellness-focused Teneriffe House and Teneriffe Lane apartment buildings

Focus Group Investments has lodged plans for a new apartment development at <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/64-70-hanover-street-fitzroy-vic-3065">64–70 Hanover Street</a> in Fitzroy, seeking to utilise the Victorian Government’s recently introduced Great Design Fast Track pathway to accelerate approvals for the project.

The proposal is among the latest developments to emerge through the state-led initiative, which was established to fast-track well-designed residential projects in activity centres and transport-connected inner-city locations. The pathway allows qualifying developments that meet elevated design and housing benchmarks to bypass traditional council planning timeframes and instead be assessed directly by the Department of Transport and Planning.

Designed by SJB, the development will comprise a mix of apartments above activated lower levels, with a strong focus on architectural articulation, landscaping, and communal amenity. The design response seeks to balance the industrial character of Richmond’s former warehouse precincts with a more contemporary residential form.

<img alt="First look: Focus Group Investments taps Victoria’s Great Design Fast Track for Richmond apartments" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="abea51cc-d85b-479e-9aef-a589f3b37ca7" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/ground.png?VersionId=e1Kf8EyPWwyiVumtqQ4rM5S4GpOR3CCz" />

Proposed are 63 new dwellings, a wide ranging mix of studio, one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments, and townhouses and duplexes. They will be spread across a part-three, part-eight storey building.

The Planning and Urban Context Report by Tract says the development is of an "exemplary architectural standard" and has been carefully crafted by SJB Architects.

"Dwellings&nbsp;will benefit from excellent access to natural light, cross-ventilation opportunities and extensive communal space," the report noted.

The architectural material highlights the project’s integration of landscaped elements and communal spaces throughout the building. The proposal also incorporates sustainability initiatives aligned with the Victorian Government’s push for higher-performing apartment developments under the fast-track program.

The Great Design Fast Track was unveiled by the Victorian Government in 2024 as part of a broader housing supply strategy aimed at accelerating the delivery of new homes. Projects assessed through the pathway must demonstrate high-quality architecture, sustainability outcomes, and housing diversity while being located close to public transport and existing infrastructure.

<img alt="First look: Focus Group Investments taps Victoria’s Great Design Fast Track for Richmond apartments" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="afdbe834-8dc4-4a77-a943-ba07bc927348" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/site_11.png?VersionId=0J657j.TaChAZfp93wqJYBTqSsnREJx2" />

Focus Group, founder and led by Paul De Lutiis, is increasingly active across Melbourne’s inner suburbs, targeting well-connected urban renewal locations suited to medium and higher-density residential development. The Fitzroy proposal continues that strategy, leveraging the area’s strong transport links, established retail amenity, and proximity to the CBD.

Fitzroy has been one of the most popular spots for developers and buyers in recent years. The likes of PACE Development Group, SMA Projects, Crema Group and Chapter Group, currently selling projects in the suburb.

Alastair Taylor

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