Preston (High Street) Activity Centre

The State Government has designated High Street as an Activity Centre, this means that there will be significant growth and development in that area. With a projected increase of 10,200 new homes, we need to make sure that this growth is fair and equitable.

Appropriate Development Along High Street

Preston is growing. We need to make sure our community grows with it.

More people want to call Preston home, and new housing is needed.

But building thousands of new homes without investing in the parks, playgrounds, community facilities, transport and services that people rely on isn't good planning.

The Victorian Government's Preston Activity Centre Plan will allow substantially more housing around High Street, Preston Station and surrounding neighbourhoods. If our community is going to accommodate this growth, then government and developers must invest in the infrastructure needed to support it.

Development shouldn't simply be measured by how many apartments we can build. It should be measured by whether we're creating good neighbourhoods where people can live well. That means making sure increased development is accompanied by investment in:

parks and green open space
better playgrounds
community and social services
schools and childcare
walking and cycling infrastructure
accessible public transport
community facilities and meeting spaces
trees, shade and greener streets
safe and welcoming public spaces

I will fight for:

Appropriate development along High Street and around Preston Station.
Strong design and environmental standards for new buildings.
Greater investment in parks, playgrounds and community infrastructure.
Infrastructure contributions from major developments to be invested back into our local community.
More public housing.
Better walking, cycling and public transport connections.
Protection of important public spaces from inappropriate overshadowing.
More trees, vegetation and green space as our neighbourhood becomes denser.

If Preston is going to grow, let's make sure we're building a better community at the same time.

Is there a housing crisis?

Yes.

Is building more houses going to help?

Kind of.

The State Government says that building more houses will help to bring down prices, but why would developers want to reduce their profits?

Just because developers can build more houses, doesn't mean they will. It's in their best interest to control the supply of housing to keep the prices high.

If they control the tap, why would they flood the market?

We can't rely on developers to solve our housing crisis. We need other solutions.

As your elected councillor, I will do everything to fight this housing crisis that we are all facing. Increasing supply is one (small) part of the solution, but more importantly we need to focus on delivering more social and affordable housing. I will advocate for State and Federal government to change the policies which artificially prop up housing prices.

We also need to make sure that when we do build housing that we also invest back into the community. Rather than making bold announcements that increase land value, if the State Government wants to build in Darebin, then they need to make it clear how they will help invest in community infrastructure, public open spaces, parks and green spaces, access to public transport, and social services. They could even invest in the Preston Market!