We’re expecting new draft plans for activity centres in Camberwell and Ashburton, and a chance to have your say.

Activity Centres Program

In the coming weeks we expect the Victorian Government to open its second phase of community consultation on proposed train and tram zone activity centres around Ashburton train station and Camberwell’s Riversdale and Willison stations. This will include draft planning maps showing proposed building heights in these areas.   

During the government’s consultation, City of Boroondara will host our own in-person and online information sessions. We encourage you to come along to get a better understanding of changes and how they might affect you.

Find out more about the consultation – and our information sessions – at our Activity centres page. 

Update on Planning Amendment Bill 2025

The Planning Amendment (Better Decisions Made Faster) Bill 2025 was passed by Victoria’s Legislative Council in December subject to some amendments. The Bill updates existing legislation including changing how local planning decisions are made, to speed up permit processing and approval times. 

City of Boroondara, through the Municipal Association of Victoria, advocated for amendments to respond to local government concerns. The Bill is expected to be finalised in February and will come into effect with the preparation of associated regulations over 2 years.

We’ll continue to work on how the new planning system can be implemented to best support our community. 

Protecting our trees through planning overlays

Last year we asked community members for their feedback about ways to better protect trees on private land across Boroondara. 

There was wide support for 2 new overlays that we proposed to protect significant trees and canopy trees. Councillors decided to write to the Planning Minister to get permission to start the process that can add the new overlays to the Boroondara Planning Scheme.

If the minister authorises the process we’ll do further community consultation on the proposed overlays. 

Find out more on our Exploring ways to protect trees page.