The curious case of the missing swamp - Merrifield North PSP
04th October 2026
By Polly Bastow, FoMC Committee
Between 2025 and 2026 an ancient swamp disappeared from Melbourne planning maps.
The Inverlochy Swamp has been erased from the 2026 Merrifield North draft precinct structure plan. This is a planning proposal for an employment district between Kalkallo and Beveridge, recently closed for public comment, but you can look at the supporting documentation here.
Part of the ancient Inverlochy swamp was clearly noted in a Victorian Planning Authority due diligence map in 2025. The due diligence report labelled this area “Extent and significance of pre-European wetland/Inverlochy Swamp and implications…to be confirmed.”
2025 2026
Inverlochy Swamp as mapped by DEECA is the blue area (labelled 1), upper middle on the 2025 map.
Left: Victorian Planning Authority, Merrifield North, Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung Country, Precinct Structure Plan Pitching summary report, August 2025, p.11
Right: Victorian Planning Authority, Merrifield North Precinct, Precinct Structure Plan, Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung Country, August 2026, p. 36
However, in the draft precinct structure plan 2026, the significant swamp has disappeared under a grey overlay entitled “Employment.” As discussed in the VPA webinar, of the 8th of September, in practice this plan is likely to lead to the construction of storage and logistics warehouses. The palaeoecology study of the Inverlochy swamp for the Victorian Planning Authority has been cancelled.
FoMC is so concerned about the absence of information on the swamp that we and the Merri Creek Management Committee have commissioned our own study into the pre-colonial extent of the swamp, and the potential for restoration. These reports are expensive, complex and time-consuming documents, but to simply build over this ancient, culturally significant swamp, does not honour the importance of Victoria’s basalt plains, or look after the Merri Creek’s catchment area.
The full FoMC response to the proposed Precinct Structure Plan on this matter and other issues, including flora and fauna, and its impact on the larger plans for the wallan wallan Regional Park can be read here.
You can also read the FoMC response to the Drainage Strategy for the precinct here.
In principle (subject to the outcome of the study), as much as possible of the Inverlochy swamp should be reinstated on the plans and the swamp kept for the health of the environment and community. Restoration of wetlands (attractive to wildlife and for local recreational areas) is proven to be a both quick (once agricultural drainage is removed) and cost-effective form of nature conservancy. Given the pressures of climate change on the environment, this addition to the proposed plan is a necessary initiative.
As a matter of social equity, the residents of the future northern suburbs should be offered the same quality of natural recreation areas as those living down south, along the Merri Creek corridor.|
FoMC Submissions on Merrifield North PSP
Draft Merrifield North Precinct Structure Plan (PSP) Submission to the Department of Transport and Planning. (September 2026)
Draft Concept Drainage Strategy for draft Merrifield North Precinct Structure Plan (PSP), Submission to Melbourne Water (September 2026)