Activity Centres Program – North Brighton, Middle Brighton, Hampton and Sandringham Activity Centres

In September 2023, the Victorian Government released its Victoria’s Housing Statement; The decade ahead 2024-2034, setting a target to build 800,000 homes in Victoria over the next decade. The Department of Transport and Planning (DTP) and Victorian Planning Authority (VPA) are working together to deliver the Activity Centres Program.

Moorabbin (Hampton East) Activity Centre

Throughout 2024, the Victorian government planned and consulted on the first 10 activity centres, which were part of the program’s pilot phase. The Moorabbin (Hampton East) Activity Centre, which is partly located within the city of Bayside, was one of 10 centres included in the pilot.

The VPA’s work on the pilot program is now complete. New planning controls for the Moorabbin (Hampton East) Activity Centre came into effect on 11 April 2025 through Amendment GC252 to the Bayside Planning Scheme. The new controls seek to facilitate the development of 60,000 new homes within 10 activity centres and their catchments by 2051.

Project objective

In late 2024, the Victorian Government announced an additional 50 ‘train and tram zone’ Activity Centres to help deliver more than 300,000 new homes across Melbourne by 2051.

The Victorian Government’s objective is to deliver 300,000 new homes through a review of building heights and design requirements, and changes to existing rules to support appropriate development. The Activity Centres Program will allow the Victorian Government to deliver more homes in the right locations to improve housing affordability and increase housing choice.

Four of the recently announced activity centres are in Bayside around the North Brighton, Middle Brighton, Hampton and Sandringham train stations.

Councils’ objective is to advocate on behalf of the community and raise awareness of the significant changes that will be occurring. Council is also concerned regarding the extent of the changes that will taking place in the municipality. As the Victorian Government will be the decision makers in this process, Council will work to best represent community views/sentiments to help influence the future of the precinct.

Engagement to date

The State Government undertook two phases of engagement for the pilot phase of the Activity Centres Program throughout 2024.

In addition to the Victorian Government’s community engagement on the Moorabbin Activity Centre, Council undertook its own engagement with our community to inform our response. The following Have Your Say webpage was created for the Moorabbin (Hampton East) Activity Centre:

https://yoursay.bayside.vic.gov.au/MoorabbinAC-review

We received 167 responses to our online survey. Community feedback provided directly to Council was summarised and informed our advocacy and submission to the Victorian Government.

Engagement on the expansion of the Activity Centres Program

On the 6 May 2025, the Victorian Government launched Phase 1 of its online consultation via the Engage Victoria platform. https://engage.vic.gov.au/activity-centres-program. Phase 1 of the Victorian Government’s consultation is focused on understanding place and the things that people value about their local area. The submission period closes on the 15 June 2025.

To help inform our response and advocacy to the Victorian Government’s consultation, Council is also seeking community feedback through its "Have Your Say" online platform. Insights gathered from the feedback provided via the survey will guide Council's advocacy efforts in formulating its response to the Victorian Government on the Activity Centres Program.

Expanded Activity Centre Project impacts

Whilst we do not know just yet what the State Government’s review will entail, it is envisaged that this program will look into the existing building height controls and the size of the current activity centre boundary.

It is anticipated that the community’s responses to the Have Your Say survey will raise similar points/themes to those raised in the responses to the Moorabbin HYS survey. Key themes that came out of the Moorabbin survey were:

  • Increased building heights in both commercial and residential developments
  • Environmental impacts – removal of trees and vegetation due to development
  • Changes to parking restrictions in the area
  • Increased traffic and congestion
  • Project cost and whether it is a good use of money
  • Community’s ability to be involved in the decision making process
  • Concern by what Council’s role is in the matter and how Council can influence the decision making process.
  • Lack of infrastructure to support development
  • Adverse effects on liveability and character of the area

What information do we need from the community?

As this is a project being delivered by the Victorian Government, Council has little ability to halt this work. To influence this project, Council will be collecting its own feedback from the community and using this information to advocate to the Victorian Government.

We will be seeking community feedback to ensure that Councils advocacy aligns with community views/sentiment. The community will be able to comment on matters such as increased density surrounding the activity centres and planning controls but ultimately the Victorian Government are the decision makers.

What can the community influence?

  • Satisfaction with current planning controls
  • Vision of the future precinct based on current neighbourhood character
  • Management of impacts during construction

What can’t the community influence?

  • Scope of Activity Centre Program
  • Inclusion of North Brighton, Middle Brighton, Hampton and Sandringham as activity centres in the program
  • Delivery of more houses in the activity centre
  • Extent of the activity centre boundary
  • Future planning controls including height limits, setbacks, built form

Stakeholders and community

This stakeholder assessment is a generalised understanding of sections of the community that have a connection to the project or matter. This information is used to understand the types of tools and techniques that will achieve the strongest and most effective outcomes for engagement and communication.

Impact: What level of change the stakeholder / community segment may experience as a result of the project / matter

Interest: What level of interest has been expressed or is anticipated

Influence: Reference to the IAP2 Spectrum

As the DTP, alongside the VPA are the facilitators of this project, they technically own the project and their level of impact, interest and influence have not been assessed. As Council itself is a stakeholder in this project, we have self-assessed where we stand, alongside residents, business owners and other stakeholders we wish to keep informed of the project through our advocacy efforts.

Stakeholder / community

Impact

Interest

Influence

Bayside City Council

M

H

Consult / Engage

Bayside residents within the activity centre

H

H

Consult

Bayside residents within close vicinity of the activity centre

H

M

Inform

Bayside business owners within the activity centre

M

H

Consult

Bayside business owners within close vicinity of the activity centre

L

M

Inform

Local MP’s

H

H

Inform

Residents Action Groups

H

H

Consult

Local environmental groups

L

H

Consult

General Bayside residents

L

L

Inform

Selected tools and techniques

As previously mentioned in this Engagement Plan Overview, Council is only a stakeholder in this project. The facilitators and therefore decision makers of what tools and techniques will be utilised to communicate the project are the DTP & VPA officers. Council officers have been informed that the following tools and techniques will be used:

Council will be collecting its own feedback and expanding on the Victorian Government’s communications to ensure that we can be a voice for the community.

Council’s key tools for communicating the project

  • Social media posts, especially sponsored posts to specific target audiences that match our stakeholder mapping
  • Links from social media to our Have Your Say page to take the survey and subscribe for updates.
  • Separate links to the Engage Victoria website so that the community can also provide feedback directly to the Victorian Government.
  • Flyer distribution in activity centres and surrounding catchment area, which will include a link to the HYS webpage
  • Signage distributed in and around Activity Centres encouraging people to participate in Council’s Have Your Say survey and the Engage Victoria survey

Council’s key methods for gathering feedback

  • Online engagement through Have Your Say, including opportunities provide feedback through our own Survey
  • Survey (can be printed upon request)
  • Separate links to the Engage Victoria website so that the community can also provide feedback directly

Project timelines

The following timeframes and key dates have been set by the Victorian Government.

Project key dates and timeline (as set by the Victorian Government)

  • Consultation phase 1

6 May - 15 June 2025

You can participate via the Engage Victoria platform and via Bayside's survey on the project page.

  • North Brighton to Sandringham online session

15 May 2025, 6:30pm-7:30pm

Online information session led by the Victorian Government. You can RSVP for this even via the Engage Victoria website.

  • Reviewing your feedback

Bayside City Council will review community feedback received directly via its survey on this page (Step 2) to inform its submission to the Victorian Government.

  • Community reference groups

Mid-2025

Express your interest in joining a Community Reference Group, which will deliberate on community feedback and provide input on the activity centre plans, via the Engage Victoria platform.

  • Consultation phase 2

Mid-2025

  • Reporting back and implementing plans

Late 2025 - early 2026

  • Reporting back

December 2024


Decision-making process

Counci does not own this project and are therefore we are not the decision makers. Council will utilise the community’s feedback to help inform our response to DTP & the VPA. When the DTP & VPA publicly share any technical documents, Council will make this information available on the Have Your Say webpage and email to project subscribers.

More information

Clare Beames, Senior Strategic Planner via email at cbeames@bayside.vic.gov.au

Jess Romhany, Strategic Planner via email at jromhany@bayside.vic.gov.au.

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