At last week’s Council meeting, the City of Port Phillip approved a new housing strategy. A draft strategy for comment was released earlier this year and was explained here.
The completed housing strategy is designed to help direct and manage housing growth over a 15-year period, ensuring a range of housing opportunities are available across the municipality. It will also identify suitable locations for housing growth and change.
At the meeting, Council officers reported that community feedback on the draft strategy emphasised the need to direct housing to areas that can accommodate growth, a desire to preserve valued neighbourhood character, a balance of heritage and character with the need for new housing, an emphasis on sustainable housing and good design, and overall support for the introduction of an affordable housing target.
The completed Port Phillip Housing Strategy can be accessed here. The council’s agenda paper and supporting documents to the strategy can be accessed here.
New housing will be directed to areas close to services, jobs, public transport, and activity centres. Bay Street is considered a Major Activity Centre and Centre Avenue (around the shops in Garden City) is considered a Local Activity Centre.
The strategy respects areas that have planning overlays, such as the Neighbourhood Character Overlay, which applies to the low-rise homes in Beacon Cove. Nevertheless, change is expected close by. Affected areas include buildings on either side of Bay Street near Beach Street, small areas in Graham Street and Williamstown Road and in Centre Avenue in Garden City. Some incremental change is expected around the towers in Beach Street, Station Pier, and to the older non-Mirvac built homes in the block bounded by Morley, Little Swallow and Swallow Street. All these changes are depicted in a map of Port Melbourne on page 65 in the Housing Strategy. It is shown here.
