Thursday, 16 October 2025

 Kat THEOPHANOUS (Northcote) (17:21): (1353) My adjournment is to the Minister for Planning. I ask the minister to explain how community feedback on the draft planning maps for the Thornbury train and tram zone will inform the final maps to better reflect the nuance and context of the local area. Thornbury is one of Melbourne’s most distinctive inner-north communities, a place where trains, trams, cafes and creativity meet. It is a place people love and a place people want to live. With that growth comes the need for more homes of all kinds – private, affordable, social. Locals understand this, and I have heard from many who want to see more housing options, particularly for younger people and families wanting to settle down. Importantly, residents want these homes delivered gradually and through sensitive planning that augments what makes Thornbury special. It has been encouraging to hear from locals who are thinking about how we plan for housing and growth in a way that supports affordability, sustainability and livability.

Right now, through the consultation, people are talking about the opportunity to deliver real benefits to our neighbourhood, including more investment in our transport network and open spaces. They are speaking about the opportunity to support High Street as a vibrant business precinct and to encourage more trade on St Georges Road and the opportunity to give more people secure homes. But residents are also concerned that the current drafts are not sensitive enough to the current pressure points and future needs of the area. They want to see more street-by-street analysis that recognises the differences in our microneighbourhoods. As a lifetime local in the inner north these nuances are obvious to me, but they may not be to planners, and that is where community voice is so critical in getting this right. That is the intent of this phase of consultation. The maps have been released in draft to ensure local knowledge can refine boundaries, heights and safeguards before anything is made final next year.

Residents have already raised thoughtful feedback about height transitions, catchment boundaries, heritage, public spaces, housing variety and design quality. They have provided insight on important sites, how we use the area and what we want to see in the future, and I say future because sometimes that is lost in the conversation. This is not a development plan but rather a planning amendment – that means it gives parameters around future planning applications rather than proposing development. The intent is to enable gradual growth over decades close to transport and services so as to avoid urban sprawl, which has serious environmental, agricultural and social costs.

We know this, and we know Thornbury can welcome more homes. It is why, as the member for Northcote, I have been working to draw tangible investment into our suburbs and grow our services for the future. That means major upgrades at Preston South Primary, Thornbury Primary, Thornbury High and Penders Park. It means works at Merri kinder, Raleigh Street kinder, Thornbury kinder and a new Darebin Creek kinder. It means planning for accessible tram stops on High Street and expanding the Austin Hospital emergency department, a new distress support service and plans for a new early parenting centre.

Thornbury is a sought-after destination. For better or worse there has been a lot of ad hoc development already, so we know there are benefits to a cohesive plan. What we ask for now is that community insights shape refinements to ensure that the final planning controls genuinely balance our housing need with our local identity. I look forward to hearing from the minister on this.