Andrews Government rezoning 12 suburbs, 50,000 new house lots to come

Melbourne's outer suburbs have always been popular for house and land, and now there's even more to come.

In an effort to keep housing affordable, the Andrews Labor Government has rezoned 12 suburbs, providing an opportunity for 50,000 new housing lots to be built.

Treasurer Tim Pallas made the announcement to Urban Development Insitute of Australia last Friday. The communities will be developed in an effort to sustain Melbourne’s 15-year land supply, which Pallas says is critical for keeping house and land packages affordable.

The suburbs will include Beveridge North West, Wallan South and Wallan East, Merrifield North/Kalkallo Basin, Lindum Vale, Shenstone Park, Craigieburn West, Pakenham East, Officer, Croskell, part two of the Kororoit Precinct plan, and Aviators Field.

The neighbourhoods could support tens of thousands of jobs for Australians. The south employment precinct in Officer could support more than 20,000 alone while Kalkallo and Beveridge surrounding areas could generate more than 13,000 jobs.

“We’re making it easier for people to buy a home in Melbourne,” Pallas said when speaking to the Urban Development Insitute of Australia. “With stamp duty discounts for first home buyers and new communities for people to make their home.”

The treasurer claims upwards of 40,000 first homeowners have seen the advantages of stamp duty exemptions and concessions, with gross savings of $850 million so far. 

And while it’s true, these kinds of packages are a highly affordable option for first homeowners, it’s not the only advantage. The new suburbs are likely to reflect those already existing — places like Wallara Waters in Wallan (as shown above) and True North in Greenvale. These areas are highly walkable, full of modern services and amenities, and include plenty of parks and leisure centres for residents to gather in and engage with one another.

Image: True North

Six of the twelve suburbs will lie near pre-existing infrastructure such as the Seymour Line, where V/Line trains run every half hour to hour. Others will see an extension of existing rail services but plans have not yet been revealed for those suburbs which exist outside of Melbourne’s public transport network.

Early earthworks will begin in the coming four years, with more details surrounding the plans expected to be released in the near future.

Source: premier.vic.gov.au