Thornbury residents devise their own housing plan as alternative to activity centre
Fair Growth Thornbury say the Allan government’s activity centre plan for the area is excessive, so they made their own alternative plan.
Thornbury residents devise their own housing plan as alternative to activity centre
Thornbury residents are taking housing plans into their own hands, designing an alternative to the Allan government’s activity centre designs for the area.
Fair Growth Thornbury say they support increased density if it’s done right, and believe their proposal better maintains the suburb’s character and amenity.
James Patto and Sarah Downes from Fair Growth Thornbury have proposed a different way to rezone part of Melbourne’s inner north.Credit: Joe Armao
James Patto and Sarah Downes founded the group in September after reviewing the state government’s rezoning plans and believing they were excessive.
The young couple argue their approach is different and more constructive than other housing reform opponents, like those in Brighton – with whom the premier has sparred – because they have crafted high-density options for along St Georges Road and High Street.
“We are here for density. We are here to find where it fits best, and how we can make it work,” Patto says. “That’s a big difference, I think, in the approach between us and, say, the baysides of the world.”
However, a prominent activist group pushing for broader up-zoning to boost housing supply and affordability has criticised Fair Growth Thornbury’s plan.
YIMBY Melbourne singled out the group online on December 15, branding them NIMBYs whose vision unfairly locked people out from well-serviced neighbourhoods.
It’s one of dozens of planning fights playing out across Melbourne as the Allan government prepares to finalise 50 train and tram activity centre maps next year.
Fair Growth Thornbury’s proposal removes much the state government’s draft inner catchment zone that would allow development up to four storeys – and six storeys on larger sites – around transport hubs.
Instead, these quieter roads – east of High Street to St David Street, for instance – are proposed to be part of the outer catchment for three-storey development, or four-storeys on larger sites.
