THE state government has ticked off 16-storey height limits around Frankston’s CBD. The new height limits will be gazetted this month. The state government announced updated height limits for ten “pilot activity centres” last week – 10 storey limits will apply in Niddrie, North Essendon, and Preston, 12 storeys will apply in Broadmeadows, Camberwell, Chadstone, Epping, and Moorabbin, 16 storeys applies in Frankston, and 20 storey limits are set for Ringwood.
The state government said in a statement that the higher height limits in Frankston were applied because “this is what local councils asked for as part of their own long-term planning.” Frankston mayor Kris Bolam said the new restrictions aligned with Frankston Council’s FMAC Structure Plan and would help council keep up with housing demand. “For 20 years the heart of Frankston City Centre has been without a tailored planning framework or detailed guidance. Our structure plan, which is nearing ministerial approval, provides a very clear strategic vision for Frankston’s city centre,” Bolam said.
The FMAC Structure Plan was drafted between April 2022 and September 2024, and is awaiting final approval from the planning minister. The plan and its associated planning scheme amendment C160fran sets maximum preferred height limits of up to 16 storeys in parts of Frankston’s city centre (“Council approves height limits” The Times 23/09/2024).
Frankston MP Paul Edbrooke said the new planning guidelines will “change the face of Frankston in a really appropriate way, in the way that people in Frankston wanted, and in a way that people in Frankston have told us how their community should grow in the future.”
Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan has thrown her full support behind the plan. She said “fearmongering politicians claimed we wouldn’t consult or make changes that reflect the community’s wishes. Here is the evidence that we have – and we will.” “The status quo won’t cut it. There is only one way out of the housing crisis – build our way out,” Allan said. “We want more homes for young people and workers close to jobs, transport, and services – so they can live where they want, near the things they need and the people they love.”
The state government’s planning changes in Frankston also allow for developments between three and six storeys in areas surrounding the city centre.
The push for high-rise development in Frankston has been met with some opposition. The Stop The Great Wall of Frankston protest group has vocally opposed plans for high-rise buildings along the Nepean Highway near Kananook Creek.
In 2024 VCAT rejected plans for a 14-storey apartment building at 438-444 Nepean Highway, and approved a multi-storey building at 446-450 Nepean Highway (“VCAT rejects high-rise plan” The Times 24/6/2024).
Along the Frankston line, Mentone, Glen Huntly, Ormond, and Bentleigh stations have been named “train and tram zones” with a focus on increased development. A state government media release read that the “the vision for train and tram zones is gentle density, with more multi-storey residential buildings in the immediate ‘core’ at the station or tram corridor, with gentler, scaled height limits and more low-rise apartments and townhouses alongside existing houses in the walkable catchments surrounding.
“The government will progressively introduce new planning controls to deliver the vision – engaging with councils and locals to understand what’s important. Heritage and landscape overlays will not change through this program, and how it works in every community will be designed in consultation with locals. “Consultation with community on the first tranche of train and tram zones will open in April. Residents will receive information soon on how they can have their say.”
First published in the Frankston Times – 4 February 2025