Apartment towers up to 12 storeys high could be built near West Footscray, Middle Footscray and Tottenham stations under draft plans released by the state government.
The draft maps for 25 of the 50 train stations and tram corridors across Melbourne earmarked for high density housing developments, were released on Wednesday October 10, with West Footscray, Middle Footscray and Tottenham the only stations in the western suburbs included.
Under the draft plans, the area around West Footscray station will be subject to the most development, with apartment buildings of up to 12 storeys in height allowed at four locations along Barkley Street and at another near the corner of Cross and Hocking streets behind Whitten Oval.
A maximum height of 10 storeys will apply to a site on the Barkly Street side of Whitten Oval as well as two more locations further up the street towards Barkley Village.
Eight and six storey apartment buildings will be permitted on either side of Barkly Street between Summerhill Road and Russell Street, while four and three storey limits will apply for the rest of the surrounding zone.
The southern corner of Ashley Street and South Road will be the only 12 storey site allowed near Tottenham Station, with a maximum height of four storeys permitted on the opposite side of Ashley Street and three storey limits applying elsewhere.
The Middle Footscray station activity centre will have no apartment buildings above six storeys and these will only be allowed along a stretch of Victoria Stree, between Buckley and Charles streets in Seddon.
Three and four storey height limits will apply to much of the rest of the area surounding Middle Footscray station, though up to six storeys could be permitted on larger sites.
Maribyrnong council has yet to comment on the draft plans which have been criticised by other councils such as Boroondara and Stonnington due to what they claim was a lack of consultation from the state government, claims Planning Minister Sonia Kilkenny dismissed.
“We’ve listened to the community through the first round of consultation, and we’ll continue to do so,” Ms Kilkenny said.
“We’re prepared to make changes that reflect the feedback we get.”
Community consultation: https://engage.vic.gov.au/activity-centres-program
