Issues and campaigns
06th September 2025
- Beveridge North-West Precinct Structure Plan released
- Merrifield North growth planning
- Merlynston Creek masterplan
- Upper Merri sewer project
Beveridge North-West Precinct Structure Plan released
by Ann McGregor
The Beveridge North West Precinct Structure Plan 2024 has been released, at last, by the Minister for Planning. The holdup was no doubt due to the controversial quarry proposal, which is strongly opposed by the Wallan community and Mitchell Shire Council. The Friends have also opposed the quarry and have a strong interest in burrung buluk, formerly Hanna Swamp, a drained wetland that lies partly in the Beveridge NW precinct.
FoMC have been engaged in this long-running planning process since our submission to the first draft PSP in October, 2014. We then emphasised the importance of retaining an inter-urban break as an east-west habitat link, the need for an adequate open space corridor along Kalkallo Creek and management of erodible soils.
The next submission, in October 2019, referred to the restoration potential of Hanna Swamp and the proposed Wallan Regional Park. With an enormous amount of expert input from Mark Bachmann of Nature Glenelg Trust, we made a detailed written submission and verbal presentation to the Planning Panel reviewing the draft PSP in August, 2020. We wrote to the Minister for Planning in December, 2020 in support of the Panel’s recommendations for Hanna Swamp, and met with Ministerial Advisers in October, 2021. We showed up again to present to the Ministerial Advisory Committee reviewing the next version of the PSP in June, 2022.
How does the final PSP deal with issues we have raised?
It acknowledges the “potential for the areas identified for drainage and conservation (including the hilltops, burrung buluk and the waterways) to form part of any future regional parkland.” Guideline G41 states: “Where practicable, existing vegetation should be retained, protected and enhanced, and indigenous revegetation undertaken to provide habitat and movement corridors for local fauna.” G42 states: “The layout and design of waterways, wetlands and retarding basins (including the design of paths, bridges and boardwalks, and the stormwater drainage system) should integrate with any future proposed regional park, biodiversity and natural systems to the satisfaction of Melbourne Water and other relevant responsible authorities.”
The Integrated Water Management section includes several measures relating to sodic and dispersive soils. The ‘natural waterway corridor’ along Kalkallo Creek has been widened considerably. A 4-lane arterial road that crossed burrung buluk in early versions of the PSP has been realigned to the west.
There is uncertainty over what the ‘concept plan’ for the wetland will mean in practice. While the southern quarter of the 60 hectare burrung buluk looks to be protected in the final PSP, full protection will depend on the Wallan South PSP, which covers the northern three-quarters of the wetland.
The Friends will continue to advocate strongly for burrung buluk, its restoration as a multi-value wetland and its incorporation into the future wallan wallan Regional Park.
Merrifield North growth planning
by Luisa Macmillan
If you travel from Craigieburn to Wallan, by train or car, you’ll see mass urban development underway, in our very own Merri Creek catchment. A broad agricultural landscape of volcanic cones, stony rises, paddocks and drained wetlands is rapidly being urbanised, dominated by detached housing. New suburbs around Donnybrook, Kalkallo, Mickleham and Wallan epitomise this. Commercial and employment areas are also growing apace.
Planning is now underway for the latest development area: Merrifield North PSP. It’s a 988-hectare site, a little north of Donnybrook Rd, west of the Hume Hwy. Planning is being led by the Victorian Planning Authority (VPA). FoMC has been involved in some of the early processes.
We pitched our vision to the VPA back in June, when we said we sought:
…. a network of waterways, conservation reserves and public open spaces, with a large wetland as a centrepiece. The Kalkallo Creek corridor through the precinct is the spine of this network, providing connectivity for ecological communities, as well as for people recreating, or using active transport.
The wetlands in Merrifield North are part of the vast Inverlochy Swamp complex. This is a series of interconnected wetlands, now criss-crossed by agricultural drains, that once stretched from Beveridge to Merrifield North. The outlet of the swamp is to Kalkallo Creek, an important tributary of Merri Creek. The western arms of the marram baba parklands and the future wallan wallan parklands meet in this precinct.
More than a third of the precinct can’t be developed, because it is already set aside as conservation areas and for the large Kalkallo Retarding Basin. The latter is owned by Melbourne Water and has great potential for restoration as a wetland. The conservation areas are for the Growling Grass Frog, along Kalkallo Creek, and for the Golden Sun Moth in the surrounding native grassland.
State policy identifies the ‘developable’ part of the precinct for industrial and employment land-uses. But even within this ‘developable area’; there are important ecological and Traditional Owner cultural values, the details of which are still being investigated by the VPA. The most significant of these is a remnant wetland.
We don’t want a hostile industrial interface to important conservation and public open spaces. The interfaces need to be well-planned. This is something FoMC will be paying close attention to, as more detailed planning unfolds.
In late July, the VPA convened a workshop where FoMC shared our vision for Merrifield North with other stakeholders. These included landholders, one of the biggest being Stockland, government agencies, local government and Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung.
This is the first time that FoMC have been invited by the VPA to participate in the early stages of precinct planning. We welcomed the opportunity to advocate for our vision and to hear the perspectives of other stakeholders.
For maps and further detail: Merrifield North - Desktop Due Diligence Report (REVISED JUNE 2025)
Ann McGregor, Luisa Macmillan and Peter Ewer represented FOMC at the VPA sessions.
Merlynston Creek masterplan
by Luisa Macmillan
Hume Council is preparing a masterplan for Merlynston Creek. This creek rises north of Barry Rd in Campbellfield and flows south through Broadmeadows to Jack Roper Reserve, before diving under the Ring Rd. It eventually joins the Merri just above Coburg Lake, after an adventurous route through Fawkner cemetery and a long underground section through North Coburg.
FoMC strongly supports the development of a masterplan for this important, but somewhat neglected, creek corridor. We said so in our submission to Hume. Overtime, we look forward to the full potential of the linear Merlynston Creek parklands being realised. This will require coordination with Merri-bek Council, as the developing masterplan is only for the Hume part of Merlynston Creek. Luckily, in Hume the creek hasn’t been buried underground, though some sections are in a concrete channel.
We have decades of work ahead of us, advocating for the FOMC’s long-term vision of a continuous, daylighted and restored Merlynston Creek, connected along its entire corridor to its junction with Merri Creek.
Merlynston Creek masterplan (Hume Council)
Upper Merri Creek Sewer Project
by Luisa Macmillan
Early investigations have started for a new sewer on the west side of Merri Creek, between Craigieburn and Campbellfield. This is needed to service the huge number of new homes and businesses to be built in the growth corridor over the next 20 years. Construction of the sewer itself will be trenchless, but up to 18 access shafts are needed for the tunnel boring machines. A few of the shafts might be within the marram baba Merri Creek parklands. We will be keeping a close eye on this, as Yarra Valley Water gathers information on cultural heritage, ecology, and ground conditions to determine shaft locations. Construction is not expected to begin for a number of years. In the meantime, we anticipate regular updates on the project.
Keep an eye out for news in future issues of the Merri Growler.