Is the Arden renewal precinct a lost opportunity?

Innovative transport, mixed purpose buildings for living and work, plenty of affordable housing with limited high-rises seamlessly blending in with green space. These are some of the things Melbourne planning experts say the proposed Arden Renewal precinct will miss out on. 

Instead of drawing inspiration from forward-thinking places such as California - which have a requirement to construct 25 per cent affordable housing with developers still able to make a buck – some experts warn the current Arden plan is a “disgrace”. 

RMIT planning expert Michael Buxton said it was a “disappointing” lost opportunity.

“The most disappointing thing about it – like the other ones they’ve done and botched like Southbank, Docklands and Fishermans Bend – is that they’ve had a wonderful opportunity to build a new city, and these opportunities to build major parts of the city from scratch are great to set a direction for the future of the city that will work on a human scale people can identify with and enjoy,” he said.

“But instead, they go for the high-rise model with the bottom line of getting as much money for developers.”

“The government shouldn’t be allowed to get away with it.”

Last month’s edition of North West City News reported plans for the urban renewal of 140 hectares in North Melbourne are now being revised under the Arden and Macaulay structure plans.

The aspiration for Arden is to create a major employment precinct – with 34,000 jobs alongside 15,000 residents – by 2051. 

High-rise is proposed for more than two-thirds of the precinct, in some places up to 40 storeys. 

What’s wrong with Arden?

Associate Professor Andrew Butt from RMIT’s Centre for Urban Research said the lack of government commitment to affordable housing for Arden was “deplorable”.

“I think a clear sense of targets and mechanisms to achieve affordable housing needs to be there from the beginning,” he said.

“By all means invite the private sector to engage but set rules.”

With public housing recently demolished at the Abbotsford St Estate, and only six per cent affordable housing proposed for Arden, Associate Professor Butt warned there could be a deficit.

“They need to look at mechanisms and I think there needs to be a clear statement made about what mechanisms are going to drive social housing,” he said.

On its current trajectory, Association Professor Butt warned Arden would create a situation seen in Docklands where developers constructed a series of expensive, high-rise towers based on the expectation of “huge yields” at the expense of the public realm.

Professor Buxton agreed.

“It’s not rocket science, we know form international experience four- to six-storey town houses work,” he said.

“[For example, look at] the dense European-style cities or on the west coast of the US, where the smaller cities within California and Los Angeles are building really high quality five- to six-storey apartments and three-story town houses with mixed use.”

Is there enough green space?

As an area that has been historically stripped of its natural habitat by industry, Associate Professor Butt said the government needed to consider how the Arden precinct could build it back in.

The Victorian Planning Authority (VPA)  is currently reviewing the plan for Arden with further public consultation expected mid-2021.

As part of the plan, the VPA is considering how to incorporate opportunities with the Moonee Ponds Creek, the subject (or focus) of a detailed redevelopment plan created by the City of Melbourne. 

The council’s plan for the creek proposes a linear green corridor along the creek identifying spots to be revegetated.

However, it remains unclear whether the government will prioritise funding for the creek.
Peter Sagar, executive director of Melbourne renewal projects at the VPA, said the creek was much more than the western boundary of Arden.

“It is an important Melbourne waterway and our plan for Arden will see a range of measures to address flooding, provide high-quality open space along the banks of the creek and improved environmental outcomes for the whole waterway,” he said.

It is understood the VPA may provide more information about the Moonee Ponds Creek development during the public consultation on Arden.

The VPA did not respond to questions about the Arden renewal precinct •