Activity Centres
Learn more about Yarra's activity centres.
Overview
Our activity centres host a vibrant and constantly evolving range of retail, entertainment, hospitality and commercial services.
In planning for the future, we need to consider how the centres look now (the types and heights of buildings and their heritage significance), what scale of future growth is reasonable and how we balance this with state planning policy.
To plan and accommodate this growth, we have introduced controls into the Yarra Planning Scheme that help determine an appropriate scale of new development.
It is important that any development in our activity centres is appropriate and the character of the centre is maintained.
Our major centres are:
- Brunswick Street, Fitzroy
- Smith Street, Collingwood / Fitzroy
- Bridge Road, Richmond
- Swan Street, Richmond
- Victoria Street, Abbotsford / Richmond
Our neighbourhood centres are:
- Gertrude Street, Fitzroy
- Johnston Street west (of Smith Street), Fitzroy
- Johnston Street east (of Smith Street), Collingwood / Abbotsford
- Heidelberg Road, Alphington
- Nicholson Street, Carlton North / Fitzroy North
- Rathdowne Street, Carlton North
- St. Georges Road, Fitzroy North
- Queens Parade, Fitzroy North / Clifton Hill
We also have smaller, local centres which serve the local community and are appropriate locations for modest employment growth.
Our local centres are:
- Berry Street / Ramsden Street, Clifton Hill
- Lygon Street, Carlton North / Princes Hill
- Nicholson Street (south), Carlton North
- Rathdowne Street (north), Carlton North (near Richardson Street)
- Spensley Street, Clifton Hill
Our major centres are:
- Brunswick Street, Fitzroy
- Smith Street, Collingwood / Fitzroy
- Bridge Road, Richmond
- Swan Street, Richmond
- Victoria Street, Abbotsford / Richmond
Our neighbourhood centres are:
- Gertrude Street, Fitzroy
- Johnston Street west (of Smith Street), Fitzroy
- Johnston Street east (of Smith Street), Collingwood / Abbotsford
- Heidelberg Road, Alphington
- Nicholson Street, Carlton North / Fitzroy North
- Rathdowne Street, Carlton North
- St. Georges Road, Fitzroy North
- Queens Parade, Fitzroy North / Clifton Hill
We also have smaller, local centres which serve the local community and are appropriate locations for modest employment growth.
Our local centres are:
- Berry Street / Ramsden Street, Clifton Hill
- Lygon Street, Carlton North / Princes Hill
- Nicholson Street (south), Carlton North
- Rathdowne Street (north), Carlton North (near Richardson Street)
- Spensley Street, Clifton Hill
State Government Projects
Train and Tram Zone Activity Centres Program
State Government is planning for more homes in and around 60 train and tram zone activity centres.
Housing is one of the biggest challenges we face in Victoria. By 2051, metropolitan Melbourne will need around 1.8 million homes. Everyone should have the opportunity to live in a well-designed home, at an affordable price, in a place where they can thrive.
However, Melbourne can’t just keep growing out.
That's why the State Government is planning for homes in and around 60 train and tram zone activity centres, encouraging more than 300,000 homes to be built close to public transport, jobs and services.
They are investigating where new homes can go and what kinds of homes are most suitable for each area, by seeking to change planning rules to make it easier for more homes to be built.
State Government is piloting a new model for train and tram zone activity centres in the area that is supported by more trains and trams than anywhere else in Victoria - Melbourne’s inner city.
The City of Yarra has been identified and designated as an Inner Melbourne Train and Tram Zone.
New planning controls are proposed to support more homes in inner Melbourne, and the Department of Transport and Planning and the City of Yarra are working to deliver them.
We have already developed draft plans for locations, with proposed new building heights and design controls. The State Government is now picking up these plans and delivering them using the Built Form Overlay.
Standing Advisory Committee
We have progressed a series of proposed changes to the planning scheme to introduce built-form and design requirements in areas experiencing greater development pressure.
The Victorian Minister for Planning appointed the Yarra Activity Centre Standing Advisory Committee (the Committee) in 2021 to help implement these changes more efficiently.
Role of the Committee
The Committee was appointed by the Minister for Planning on 9 August 2021 to provide timely advice to the Minister and Yarra City Council on referred planning matters and associated draft Yarra Planning Scheme provisions for Yarra's strip shopping centres (activity centres) and other areas of urban change.
The objective of the Committee, administered by Planning Panels Victoria, was to provide consistent advice in a transparent, simpler, more timely and cost-efficient process on any proposed new planning provisions referred to it by the Minister.
More information about the Committee can be viewed on Planning Panels Victoria's website.
Council has prepared an Information Sheet [ PDF, 295.23 KB] that explains more about why the Committee was set up and what the process includes.
More information
The Minister for Planning issued the Yarra Activity Centre Standing Advisory Committee - Terms of Reference.
This document sets out how the Standing Advisory Committee will work.
Visit the Victorian government's websites for more information on the Yarra Activity Centre Standing Advisory Committee and the Inner Melbourne Train and Tram Zones.
Please visit Yarra's page for frequently asked planning questions for more information into planning and the Standing Advisory Committee process.