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Melbourne’s Victoria Barracks would be opened up for parks, schools and housing under a master plan proposed ahead of the sale of the historic military site.
As debate continues over the Commonwealth’s plan to divest the 5.7-hectare heritage listed site on St Kilda Road, Lord Mayor Nick Reece said the sale represented a “once in a generation” opportunity for Melbourne.
“If we get this wrong we will never live it down,” Reece said at the City of Melbourne’s council meeting this week. “This is an opportunity for the Commonwealth, Victoria and the city to get the development, the reimagining of these sites right so they continue to serve our city not just for the next decade but for the next century beyond.”
The ivy-covered bluestone buildings date back to the 1850s, as the barracks were originally built to house British troops fighting to suppress the Eureka Rebellion in Ballarat.
Selling the Victoria Barracks properties in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane could net the federal government $1.3 billion, but the City of Melbourne is keen to strike a balance between commercial development and community benefit.
The council has proposed a draft master plan which prioritises preserving the heritage of the barracks, public open space, a school for prep to year 12 students, housing, and community arts and cultural centres.
“Southbank is one of the fastest growing residential neighbourhoods in all of Australia and one of the most densely populated in the whole of Australia,” Reece said. “We really need neighbourhood park facilities in Southbank, we’re talking here about children’s playgrounds and barbecue tables.”
Southbank has a population of over 22,000 residents and is set to grow to 44,500 by 2043.
There is only one primary school in the area, South Melbourne Primary, and no secondary school.
Reece said the growing community made the barracks the “perfect location” for a prep to year 12 school, and it could also house arts and cultural facilities with a community focus given the proximity of theatres and the National Gallery of Victoria.
However, the state government is not so enthusiastic about his vision. A spokesman for the Department of Education said the area’s education needs were met by South Melbourne Primary, which is opening a new campus in 2029, and Port Melbourne Secondary College, which opened in 2022.
“At this point in time there are no plans to construct an additional new school in Southbank,” the spokesman said.
Reece called for planning restrictions to be put in place before the Victoria Barracks site is sold.
“The current Commonwealth disposal process puts sale before planning and that, in terms of the community, is putting the cart before the horse,” he said. “We have to ensure we get the planning right on these sites as well as a clear acknowledgment of what the planning regulations, overlays and controls are that will apply on these sites.”
The council wants to be given an active role in the decision-making around the Victoria Barracks site.
Councillor Olivia Ball said any housing built on the site needed to be affordable.
“I’m not convinced we have a shortage of expensive housing, I think we have a lot of vacant homes that people can’t afford,” she said. “What we have a shortage of is housing that can be afforded by people on modest incomes.”
David Hamilton, from residents group Southbank 3006, said he did not want more high-rise apartments on the site and instead the community wanted open space and community facilities like schools, kindergartens and neighbourhood centres.
“Residents see this as the last opportunity in what is the Wild West of development in the City of Melbourne – in other words, Southbank is effectively an area that was not planned,” he said. “Developers acquired blocks of land within a planning framework then frequently got ministerial approvals to simply get taller buildings that had no architectural merit except that they were taller.”
Hamilton said the historic significance of the barracks had to be recognised, particularly the War Cabinet Room (built in 1917), from where three prime ministers directed the nation through World War II.
Whatever the shape of the proposed sale, the room will be protected by heritage legislation. But Hamilton would like it to be more accessible to the public.
“It is not possible to go and look at the War Cabinet Room in Melbourne unless the minister for defence approves you visiting the site, you can’t,” he said. “But you can go and visit the War Cabinet Room in London.”
Hamilton said Southbank 3006 supported affordable housing for families on the site in line with the height limits and development in the Southbank village area.
“It would be sad to see facadism and a row of towers,” he said.
RSL Victoria president Dr Mark Schröffel said a cost-benefit analysis should be published for the site before planning could begin. The analysis should include realistic sale proceeds, relocation costs, remediation obligations and replacement capability costs.
“From RSL Victoria’s perspective, it is premature to be presenting what the site could look like, until all of this occurs,” he said.
The Senate is undertaking an inquiry into the proposed sale of the Defence assets, including the Victoria Barracks, Hearings will continue this month.
The inquiry has received more than 100 submissions, and among them the Planning Institute of Australia called for a comprehensive planning assessment before any sale, so it could align with the government’s wider housing, infrastructure and economic priorities.
“Once land is sold, the opportunity to shape these outcomes is significantly
constrained,” the institute said in its submission.
The Department of Defence was contacted for comment.
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