No shortage of land in Victoria's future

The Urban Development Program (UDP) reports surveyed 19 regional centres in Victoria, including Melbourne’s outer suburbs, to assess how much land was available for development.

Planning minister Matthew Guy said the reports showed Victoria’s population had enough room to grow.

“We now have a complete picture for Victoria,” Mr Guy said.

“It's clear that there is plenty of land for future development and plans to maintain supply.”

Melbourne in particular is well placed for expansion, according to the report.

“Melbourne is certainly in an enviable position because we have large tracts of land marked for urban renewal and new suburbs,” he said.

“We also have the largest amount of industrial land of all capital cities in the country.”

Mr Guy said the government planned to guide housing growth in a sustainable and sensible direction.

“In the past year, five new precinct structure plans were approved, adding around 19,000 potential house blocks in Melbourne's newest suburbs, while we had a record 179,400 potential dwellings coming from major apartment developments,” he said.

Five of Melbourne’s six key growth areas are expected to have 25 years or more of residential supply.

These growth areas encompass 412,600 potential house lots with more than a third already zoned for residential development or approved in a structure plan.

The assessment showed there were no critical shortages of residential or industrial land anywhere in Victoria.

“Right across the state, there are plans in place to ensure we can gradually open up residential and industrial land for at least the next 20 years, while protecting agricultural employment land,” Mr Guy said.