CONSULTATION is underway to decide what the proposed precincts around suburban rail loop stations will look like.
The suburban rail loop begins on the Frankston line at Cheltenham, and will link the state’s train lines when complete. The first stage, SRL East from Cheltenham to Box Hill, is projected to cost up to $34.5 billion with trains running by 2035.
The state government will have expanded planning powers in the precincts surrounding SRL train stations. The precincts are the 1600 metres radiuses around the stations. It has released an “SRL Precincts Discussion Paper” for consultation.
The paper reads that the SRL wants to “achieve a shared vision for each of the SRL East Precincts. And we want to protect and preserve what people love about their neighbourhoods – their heritage, their open spaces, their activity centres and their multiculturalism – the characteristics that already make them special. Greater and more affordable housing choices to accommodate new residents, quality open spaces, new cycling and pedestrian links, civic squares, activity centres that cater for people’s local needs, and businesses that contribute to new job opportunities,” the paper reads.
Tunnelling on the suburban rail loop is scheduled to start in 2026 – the state government has chosen a preferred bidder for that contract. SRL minister Jacinta Allan said “we promised Victorians we’d get on with building the Suburban Rail Loop and that’s exactly what we’re doing – this first major works contract is a major step towards tunnel boring machines being in the ground by 2026.”
“SRL will not only transform our public transport network, it’ll reshape how Melbourne grows in the decades ahead – taking thousands of cars off roads, delivering 24,000 jobs across the life of the project and boosting hundreds of small local businesses,” she said. “We need to boost housing choice and affordability in established areas, which is why our SRL Precincts have been so carefully selected – they are places with easy connections to existing transport and have enormous potential for high quality jobs.”
To read the SRL precinct discussion paper and make a submission visit engage.vic.gov.au/precincts-discussion-paper. Consultation closes 24 October.
First published in the Chelsea Mordialloc Mentone News – 6 September 2023