Wolfdene’s Director of Design, Karina Sunk, was a key panelist at yesterdays ‘Plan Melbourne Refresh Special Industry Forum’ held at the State Library of Victoria.
Plan Melbourne is the Victorian Government’s planning strategy, designed to guide the city’s growth and change to 2050. It outlines measures to support jobs close to homes, services and transport, and also identifies the areas that will accommodate Melbourne’s future growth. Melbourne’s population is expected to almost double over the next 35 years.
An update to the strategy, known as the Plan Melbourne Refresh, was announced last March with a focus on climate change, energy efficiency and housing affordability and diversity.
Today’s forum was organised by the Urban Development Institute of Australia and a key discussion topic was ‘Core Infrastructure Provision – What Does the Plan Melbourne Refresh Need to Consider?’
Karina Sunk said it was crucial to find ways of connecting people in new developments.
“Unlocking seed funds early to establish key community infrastructure should be a major focus in the planning strategy,” she said.
“As developers we are striving to create ways in which community activities can be implemented from day one, rather than five or six years down the track, when the development is nearing completion.
“An example is the pavilion we’ve built alongside our sales office at Brompton in Cranbourne West. The design and structure of these facilities allow them to be used for community activities such as yoga, fitness groups and coffee clubs.
“In doing so, we’re creating ways for residents to connect and integrate long before community facilities are built. This is really important when you consider many of them are first home buyers new to the area or from culturally diverse backgrounds.”
Around 75% of the Plan Melbourne 2014 strategy has had widespread support and will not be changing.
The Plan Melbourne Refresh will incorporate new and modified road, rail, port, freight and airport initiatives that were announced by the Victorian Government after Plan Melbourne was published in 2014. A Final Plan Melbourne 2016 will be released in the middle of this year.
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