$9 billion worth of airspace is set to be unlocked.
Melbourne’s suburbs could be home to more skyscrapers, with developers potentially given licence to exceed building height and design limits on apartments if they include elements such as affordable housing or open space in their projects.
The Victorian government is moving to include a “value capture framework” in planning controls for 10 suburbs across Melbourne where an extra 60,000 high- and medium-density homes are expected to be built.
The government has set new height limits in 10 “activity centres” ranging between 10 and 20 storeys in the development core and between three and six storeys in areas within 800 metres of the activity centres.
Draft planning controls seen by The Age suggest developers could be given the green light to exceed those limits if they are willing to pay for or build extra amenities deemed to benefit the public.
The document says the list of public benefits a developer could provide or pay for includes: “Affordable housing, including social housing; a positive contribution to the public realm; provision of, or funding for, public open space; delivery of local movement networks and associated infrastructure.”
Suburbs included in the initial housing intensification program include Camberwell, Preston, Chadstone, Epping, Ringwood, Moorabbin, Broadmeadows, Frankston, Essendon North and Niddrie. The Allan government has flagged extending the pilot to other activity centres around Melbourne as it chases a grand target of 1.8 million new homes by 2051.
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The numbers are mind-blowing! The untapped potential of airspace in NSW is huge for sure.