Update on the Cairnlea Planning Scheme Amendment process

Development Victoria is helping more Victorians to own their own home with developments like Cairnlea, in Melbourne’s west, delivering affordable housing near schools, jobs and other services.

To help deliver our vision for the final stage of Cairnlea, we lodged a Planning Scheme Amendment with the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP) to rezone the site.

A key part of the Planning Scheme Amendment process is the public exhibition phase, which was run by DELWP for six weeks from the end of February and has recently concluded.

Development Victoria wishes to thank community members who made a submission during the process.

We especially thank those who attended the March 22 online public information session hosted by Lisa Kendal, who is Chair of the Panel reviewing the Planning Scheme Amendment.

This online session gave Development Victoria staff an opportunity to address a range of questions in relation to our Cairnlea development plan.

The topics discussed included:

• Details around the diverse types of housing and land that will be available for people as part of the development.
• Development Victoria’s commitment to create sustainable homes which are energy efficient and affordable to heat and cool.
• Development Victoria’s ongoing involvement in the delivery of high-quality townhouses within the final stage of Cairnlea. 
• How Development Victoria will provide affordable housing as part of the development.
• Our plans for 3000 new trees to be planted across the site, to achieve a tree-canopy coverage target of around 30 per cent – making the estate one of the highest tree canopy cover areas on average in Melbourne.
• The health of the existing trees on site and why these are not suitable to be retained.
• Planning for community facilities such as schools, early child-care and community hubs.
• How this development will impact traffic in the Cairnlea area and ways Development Victoria will manage this. 
• Need for timely connections to surrounding cycling network.
• The community’s desire for better bus services through the suburb. 

For the past two decades, the suburb of Cairnlea has grown and developed with more than 3000 homes, a town centre, and almost a third of the area devoted to public open space and grassland reserves.

The final stage aims to develop the remaining 41 hectares along Cairnlea Drive and Ballarat Road to create a new neighbourhood of around 840 new homes, a neighbourhood shopping strip, more parks and open space.

We want to create a truly local community at Cairnlea – a 20-minute neighbourhood where people will be able to walk, ride or use public transport to carry out most of their daily needs.

The next step in this process will involve a Directions Hearing on Wednesday April 27, where the Government Land Standing Advisory Committee (GLSAC) will outline the process involved before the hearing begins the week commencing May 23.

We look forward to responding to community feedback received as part of the process in the coming months.