Residents of the Ashburton Station Activity Centre “investigation area”, respectfully submit this petition to express our strong concerns and opposition to the proposed rezoning of residential streets in Ashburton to permit high-density apartment buildings under the "Ashburton Station Activity Centre" planning reforms. 

Background & Context

It is our belief that the Victorian Government’s plan is misaligned with the more nuanced and carefully considered Boroondara council plan already prepared. Ashburton has long been recognised within the Boroondara planning framework as a Neighbourhood Activity Centre, a designation that is critical to understanding its intended scale and future development. According to the Boroondara Activity Centres Strategy, Ashburton sits at Level 2 in the activity centre hierarchy, meaning it is designed to support small-scale growth around its shops and community facilities, while maintaining the low-rise residential character of the surrounding streets. This classification reflects the local council’s deep understanding of the suburb’s physical constraints, transport limitations, neighbourhood character and accurately reflects resident opinion.

Under the Boroondara Planning Scheme the guidelines for a Neighbourhood Activity Centre allow for mixed-use buildings with residential levels above ground-floor shops, but with a deliberate emphasis on protecting nearby residential areas from intrusive or oversized development. This intent is reinforced by the Design and Development Overlay (Schedule 17), which places strict height limits on Ashburton’s activity centre. Most areas are capped at three storeys (11 m), with only a small number of locations near the commercial heart allowing four storeys (14.5 m). These limits were created to ensure future growth remains compatible with the suburb’s established scale and its leafy, suburban feel.

This planning approach stands in stark contrast to Major Activity Centres such as Camberwell Junction, which is intentionally designed to accommodate much larger commercial precincts and significantly higher population density. Camberwell’s activity centre plan includes building heights of up to 12 storeys in its core, supported by major transport connections, a network of high-capacity of train and tram routes, and far larger retail and employment clusters. Such a centre is fundamentally different from Ashburton, both in size and in infrastructure capacity. Treating Ashburton as if it were a similar type of centre ignores these essential distinctions and risks overwhelming a neighbourhood that was never intended to function as a dense urban hub.

Train and Infrastructure Capacity & Limits

Ashburton’s train station already operates with limited capacity as it is on a short, single tract, low-frequency rail line (Alamein) with fewer connecting routes than larger suburbs. It does not meet the criteria typically required for significant upzoning as it has lower peak and off-peak service frequencies, and the single line terminus limits future uplift due to it’s merge with the Belgrave and Lilydale lines at Camberwell station. It has no express service and constrained scheduling flexibility. State planning policy prioritises density around high-frequency, high-capacity public transport nodes. The Alamein line is not capable of absorbing a large population increase without compromising network performance.

Furthermore, the street network, parking, schools, and drainage were designed for low-density living, with high congestion experienced already in our narrow streets. Increasing building heights deep within residential streets would place pressure on infrastructure that simply cannot be expanded to major-centre levels.

Neighbourhood Character

We believe the Activity Centre proposal threatens to irreversibly erode the core characteristics that define residential streets in Ashburton. Ashburton has an established tree canopy that includes dedicated green spaces, nature strips and private property. This provides heat-mitigation benefits, stormwater absorption, biodiversity support as well as streetscape character that is highly valued by the Ashburton residents. Large-scale redevelopment would reduce canopy coverage, increase heat island effects and diminish solar access and privacy. These impacts conflict with Victoria’s climate resilience and urban forest strategies. High density buildings would dominate low-rise streets and destroy the leafy character, create overshadowing and impede privacy of existing low-rise dwellings.  

Existing Development Already Demonstrates Housing Growth

Ashburton is contributing to housing supply through targeted, context-appropriate medium-density development along High Street and other suitable corridors. Examples include:

• 363–365 High Street — 24 apartments (completed 2024)
• 327 High Street — six apartments (currently under construction)

These demonstrate that Council is successfully managing growth while protecting neighbourhood character, consistent with State objectives.

The proposed rezoning would override this careful work and apply a broad, non-strategic density uplift that does not reflect Ashburton’s scale, transport environment, or infrastructure.

Furthermore, the Boroondara City Council has approved more than 2,300 multi-dwelling homes in the past two years that remain unbuilt indicating that the issue is not zoning, it is delivery. The government should prioritise removing barriers to delivery.

Our Request

Ashburton residents are supportive of increased housing density in appropriate locations. However, given the significant policy misalignment, infrastructure constraints, environmental impacts, risk to neighbourhood character and the substantial quantity of approved but unbuilt dwellings already in the pipeline, we respectfully request that the Victorian Government remove the residential streets from the “investigation area” in the proposed “Ashburton Station Activity Centre”. We support and encourage growth, appropriate for the location as suggested by the Boroondara council on the main road in Ashburton.

Respectfully,

Ashburton residents