We’re seeking feedback on our plan to manage our growing and changing city.

Melbourne’s population is booming, and Yarra is no different.

An extra 29,000 people are expected to live in our city by 2031 and will need an additional 13,400 homes.

We have developed a draft Housing Strategy to ensure Yarra stays liveable as our population grows.

The draft strategy identifies where new housing can go to meet the needs of our changing community, while maintaining the things we love about Yarra, like our heritage and neighbourhood character.

The draft strategy proposes four categories that will guide future housing growth. It means that minimal and incremental change – mostly renovations and extensions – could occur in established residential areas. More substantial developments, like multi-unit apartments, could be built in areas close to public transport, jobs and services, and on former industrial sites.

The strategy also aims to ensure there are more housing choices to support our diverse community, more affordable rental housing, and improved family-friendly design for apartment developments.

Meanwhile, we are also planning ahead to support Yarra’s changing and thriving economy.

As demand for housing continues to grow, we also need to ensure there is enough land available for business.

Our draft Spatial, Economic and Employment Strategy is our plan for how we can best use our land to support the local economy and employment growth into the future.

Both strategies have been developed following our Liveable Yarra project, which brought together people representing Yarra’s diverse community to consider the complex challenges and opportunities of managing growth and change in our city.

As part of this consultation, we’re checking in with our community once again to make sure our strategies still align with the vision and values of our community.

We encourage all members of our community to have their say and to come along to a drop-in session to find out more and speak to a member of the project team.