Melton East PSP Approved: A Major Milestone for Melbourne’s Western Growth Corridor

The approval and gazettal this week of the Melton East Precinct Structure Plan (PSP) marks a significant milestone for Melbourne’s west and for the future delivery of housing in Victoria.

Approved by the Minister for Planning, the PSP establishes the framework for a new community east of the existing Melton township, approximately 35 kilometres from Melbourne’s CBD. Once fully developed, the precinct is expected to accommodate more than 36,000 residents through the delivery of almost 12,000 homes, alongside seven schools, community facilities, employment opportunities, major transport infrastructure and extensive open space.

For Melbourne’s fastest-growing region, the approval represents another important step towards increasing housing supply and delivering much-needed new communities.

What does the approval mean?

The Melton East PSP provides certainty for landowners, developers, infrastructure agencies and government by establishing the vision and development framework for the precinct over the coming decades.

Key outcomes will include:

• Nearly 12,000 new homes.
• Seven government and non-government schools.
• Four community hubs.
• Approximately 1,600 local jobs.
• New arterial road connections, bridges and intersections.
• Walking and cycling networks.
• Parks and reserves equivalent to more than five MCGs.

With the PSP now approved and gazetted, the focus will progressively move towards subdivision approvals, infrastructure delivery and community development.

A significant addition to Melbourne’s housing pipeline

The approval is particularly important in the context of Victoria’s ongoing housing supply challenges. While PSP approvals were once a regular feature of Melbourne’s growth corridor planning program, the pace of new approvals has slowed considerably in recent years. As a result, each new PSP plays a critical role in maintaining future land supply and supporting Victoria’s long-term housing objectives.

The Melton East PSP will ultimately be delivered over a 20 to 30-year timeframe, meaning that today’s approval is laying the foundations for future housing supply, employment generation and community infrastructure well into the future.

Balancing growth with complexity

The approval also highlights the increasing complexity of growth area planning and an emerging challenge across many of Victoria’s newer growth area precincts. The gazetted PSP reveals that only around 51% of the precinct is developable, continuing a trend seen across several recent PSPs where increasing land is being dedicated to drainage infrastructure, open space, environmental outcomes, transport infrastructure and other constraints.

These outcomes often reflect legitimate planning, environmental and community objectives. However, they also raise an important question: if we are serious about improving housing affordability, are we designing precincts as efficiently as we can?

Every hectare removed from development places greater pressure on the remaining land to accommodate housing, fund infrastructure and maintain project viability. In the end, those costs flow through the development process and are reflected in the price paid by future homebuyers.

As an industry, we may need to start thinking differently about how we plan growth areas. The challenge is no longer simply identifying land for urban development. It is about designing smarter and more efficient precincts, carefully balancing environmental, infrastructure and community outcomes while maximising the amount of land available for housing and employment.

If housing affordability remains a priority, precinct efficiency must become part of the conversation. Melbourne’s future housing supply will depend not only on approving more precincts, but also on ensuring those precincts are capable of delivering enough developable land to support the communities they are intended to serve. Achieving this will require continued collaboration between government, infrastructure agencies, landowners and industry to ensure future communities remain both liveable and deliverable.

Supporting landowners through growth area planning

Beveridge Williams has extensive experience assisting landowners, developers and investors throughout the PSP process, from strategic planning and advocacy through to subdivision approvals and development delivery. We have successfully delivered many projects within Melton’s growth areas and are well placed to support landowners and developers in the Melton East precinct.

The approval of the Melton East PSP provides long-awaited certainty for landowners and represents a significant milestone in the future growth of Melbourne’s west. The focus now turns from planning to delivery and ensuring the vision for the precinct can be translated into affordable homes, jobs and community infrastructure.

If you would like to discuss how the Melton East PSP may affect your landholding, development opportunities or future planning strategy, our team would be pleased to assist.