Planning Blind Spot Clouds Future of Melbourne Megaprecinct

Fourteen years after its rezoning, the former General Motors Holden (GMH) site—dubbed “Australia’s largest urban renewal precinct”—is yet to fire up. The 485ha Fishermans Bend precinct in the heart of Melbourne was controversially rezoned in 2012, with the aim of being called home to 80,000 residents by 2050. After more than a decade of stopgap measures, the precinct’s Development Contributions Plan (DCP) finally landed this month, giving developers some certainty. But it also lays bare a renewal precinct that has fallen flat. Fishermans Bend is unusual in that it is 90 per cent privately owned—major landholders include the University of Melbourne, Goodman and NextDC, and Mirvac and Ross Pelligra’s Citinova have residential projects in progress. ▲ Fishermans Bend was the home of General Motors Holden for 80 years. But projects are few and sales have slowed, according to Savills director of commercial sales Julian Heatherich. And it’s not all down to high costs and lower residential sales. “Historic planning changes, policy reversals and uncertainty around DCP costs have also complicated feasibility, making it harder to accurately assess costs and development risk compared with other areas of Melbourne,” Heatherich says. Limited transport and community infrastructure are also major issues, City of Port Phillip Mayor Alex Makin says. Makin represents the Montague ward—one of five council wards in Fishermans Bend. “There is no other location so close to Melbourne CBD that could house so many people and provide so many jobs,” Makin says. “What has been lacking in Fishermans Bend is a catalytic infrastructure that should have been provided by the state government.” New DCP a double-edged sword While the impact of interim arrangements in place since 2014 is difficult to quantify, a proper framework gives a clear feasibility impact, Colliers director, urban planning Sophie Kusznirczuk says. But the new DCP could be a double-edged sword. “The DCP adds a substantial infrastructure cost and for sites that were already marginal, that could delay projects, see some projects reconsidered entirely, or reduce what developers are prepared to pay for land,” Kusznirczuk says. “But certainty has value. Developers can now understand the contribution upfront and price it in, rather than working under an interim system where the long-term infrastructure funding position was unresolved.” ▲ Colliers director, urban planning Sophie Kusznirczuk: The DCP welcomed, but certainty around contributions could be a mixed blessing. Kusznirczuk says the infrastructure funding gap is the other big issue. “The DCP does not cover the full cost of the projects it seeks to deliver and the DCP does not contribute towards major catalytic infrastructure (public transport, state roads, schools and health facilities) which sit outside the DCP and remain a state government responsibility, subject to future budget and investment decisions.” The DCP also omits key community infrastructure, Makin says, including the Sandridge Recreation Precinct and the Montague Art and Cultural Hub. But it is the transport infrastructure that is really holding the precinct back. Public transport challenges remain An Integrated Transport Plan was released in September, 2025, detailing increased bus services. Links to the new Anzac Station, rerouting the 86-tram route to Port Melbourne and the 109 route to Waterfront City in Docklands were short-term goals. In the medium term, new tram routes are planned into the heart of Fishermans Bend via Southbank. It’s not enough, Makin says. “We’re talking about a location between 2km and 6km from the Melbourne CBD, and yet the government has failed to deliver the tram extensions that it promised to be operational in 2025, and there are still only hourly bus services connecting Fishermans Bend to the rest of Port Phillip,” Makin says. ▲ The Fishermans Bend precinct masterplan includes an innovation precinct and employment areas. This has been detrimental to developer confidence in the area, Heatherich says, particularly around the ability to sell large volumes of apartment stock. “For development to occur at the scale envisaged, infrastructure needs to keep pace with residential and employment growth.” Demand will be selective and development will be uneven the longer developers wait for transport certainty. “Sites with good existing access and amenity are likely to stay more attractive and develop sooner, while areas more reliant on future infrastructure will need a longer investment horizon,” Kusznirczuk says. The longer that investment slips, the greater the risk for concentration of development in better-connected pockets, “rather than happening at the scale and pace envisaged for the precinct as a whole”. ▲ Savills director of commercial sales Julian Heatherich: Policy uncertainty and transport links holding back development in Fishermans Bend. The Montague precinct, for instance, nearer the CBD and with existing tram links, has “exceeded expectations” compared to those further west at Wirraway and Sandridge. “So we have a live example in Fishermans Bend of the impact of public transport provision and what that means in terms of encouraging development,” Makin says. Infrastructure always the key Fishermans Bend’s industrial legacy also brings contamination and remediation issues, with low-lying land that creates “significant” drainage, flooding and climate resilience requirements. But challenges aside, few sites nationally match Fishermans Bend for size and proximity to a CBD. “It is also one of the few places where government is actively planning for substantial growth across housing, employment, innovation, education and advanced industry within the same precinct,” Kusznirczuk says. That diversity can attract different sources of capital, particularly if the City of Melbourne’s push for waterfront living at Fishermans Bend pays off. ▲ Winslow Infrastructure was appointed to deliver main works at the Fishermans Bend Innovation Precinct in 2025. “If the government is serious about improving housing affordability, there’s no more certain location than Fishermans Bend,” Makin says. But cross-party commitment to infrastructure is sorely needed. “Any successful example of urban renewal, whether in Melbourne, Australia, or internationally, is dependent on catalytic public transport infrastructure,” he says. “If this was somewhere like Sydney, [planning for infrastructure] would have been done well in advance.”

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Clare Burnett
Wed 28 Oct 26

Planning Blind Spot Clouds Future of Melbourne Megaprecinct

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