New eco-friendly Melbourne suburb on city fringe to house 80,000 residents

Xinhua News Agency

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Australia's Victoria State government has unveiled plans for a new suburb that will house 80, 000 residents just four km from Melbourne's central business district (CBD).

The redevelopment of Fishermans Bend, a suburb on the banks of the Yarra River, will set a new benchmark for innovation and sustainability, according to the government's vision statement for the 491-hectare site.

In addition to 80,000 residents, it is expected that the area will also accommodate 60,000 jobs by 2050.

"Fishermans Bend is a golden opportunity for Melbourne and Victoria where we can create an inclusive, creative, sustainable neighborhood that our city needs to remain marvelous, and inspire and inform future developments across the state," Richard Wynne, Victoria's Minister for Planning, said in a media release on Monday.

"This vision will pave the way for new neighborhoods on the doorstep of Melbourne's CBD that is an affordable and accessible place to live and work."

The vision had cars as the last transport option for residents of the region, with 80 percent of all transport to be made via public transport, walking or cycling, though Wynne denied that the plan was anti-car.

"You have to get the balance right between public transport and the road network," Wynne told the ABC on Monday.

"It's a particularly tight peninsula, the Fishermans Bend area, so we have to plan for getting toe balance right between obviously a key public transport link into the area and the road network."

The vision guaranteed that open space would be within 200-meters of all workers and residents in the precinct's four new suburbs and the employment district.

Wynne said the goal was for the area to set new benchmarks in urban renewal.

"This is an extraordinary urban renewal site on the doorstep of the CBD of Melbourne," he said.

"There's no other capital city in Australia that has this unique opportunity and that's why we have to get it right."

The release of the vision for Fishermans Bend has prompted planning experts to insist that the government learn from the mistakes made in developing the Docklands, Melbourne's last major inner-city development.

Bill Kusznirczuk, Managing Director of Clement Stone Town Planners, said there were three key things that needed to be at the heart of the development.

"The plan's got to be based on providing a human scale. That is, a suburb where people can do three things: live, work and play," Kusznirczuk told Melbourne radio station 3AW on Monday.

"This project needs to provide connectivity. It can't be developed on a precinct-by-precinct basis."

Included in the vision were plans for primary and secondary schools in the new suburbs, which the Docklands lack, making it an appealing area for families.

The suburbs, called Montague, Lorimer, Sandridge and Wirraway, will feature medium and high-density housing as well as offices and shops.

An underground train line, new tram routes and high frequency bus routes will service the area.

The site is currently occupied by old factories, most of which are not in use and will be demolished.

Further design details for the development will be released later in 2016.

(APD)