Whitehorse Council pushes to purchase Box Hill Brickworks site to turn space into parklands
A Melbourne council is joining forces with residents in a bid to prevent a long abandoned Brickworks from being turned into a high density apartment towers in favour of open parklands
A Melbourne council will push to purchase the long abandoned Box Hill Brickworks site in a bid to prevent the location being snapped up by developers.
At its meeting on Monday night, councillors passed a motion to authorise council officers to enter into negotiations for the potential purchase of the 14 Federation St site.
The council plans to turn the 7ha site into open parklands.
Councillor Kirsten Langford said the Brickworks was the last piece of significant open space in Whitehorse.
“It is up to us to try and preserve as much of this space as possible,” she said.
“The site is well known to locals, in Surrey Hills and Mont Albert, where the ratio of public open space per person is one of the lowest in the state at 5 sqm and 7 sqm respectively.
“It is lower than the city of Melbourne and the city of London.”
Ms Langford said turning the site into parklands would create a “greener and more liveable” urban environment.
“Imagine what it will be like in 15 years time when Whitehorse will be well on the way to more than doubling our population,” she said.
“We are not against densification but with this comes pressure on private open space, that means people will be looking for public outdoor spaces to enjoy.”
If site owners, development company Phileo Australia, do agree to sell the Brickworks site or a portion of the site, councillors will again vote on the sale.
Council’s purchase attempt comes at a time when developers unveiled plans to build 10-storey towers — with the potential for even larger apartment complexes — during public hearings for the Suburban Rail Loop East Precincts advisory committee.
Planning documents revealed the controversial changes to the plans for the former Box Hill quarry and landfill.
The new plans include towers of up to 10-storeys and potentially even taller — with no specified height limit — in the middle of the site.
An extension of Mont Albert Rd to lengthen the dead end road to cut through the site was also included in the revised plans.
The updated plans are yet to be officially approved or publicly advertised.
The site’s owners, Phileo Australia, previously advertised plans for a fixed 21m height limit covering the whole site at 14 Federation St, restricting all residential towers to five or six storeys.
A curved walking and cycling path was also included instead of the road extension.
“Housing will be delivered in a mix of mid rise apartment buildings and townhouses in a variety of heights transitioning in scale to respond to the established surroundings,” the SRL East draft structure plan reads.
“New public open space will benefit the wider community and new pedestrian and cycling links through this large site will further improve local permeability, making trips within and beyond the neighbourhood safer and easier.”
A Suburban Rail Loop Authority spokeswoman said the SRLA was working with the community to help shape the plans for the site.
“By the 2050s, Melbourne will be the same size of London today and the SRL is a key part of how we will manage that growth and provide more housing options within walking distance of green open spaces, jobs and great public transport,” she said.
“The former Brickworks site in Box Hill is proposed to deliver more high-quality homes and new public open space which is within walking distance to jobs, healthcare and services in central Box Hill – and no decision has been made on the future plans of the site.
“We’ve been working with the community as we plan for the future of SRL East neighbourhoods, and the independent public hearings are now underway to give the community, councils and organisations another opportunity to help shape these plans.”
But locals are against any residential development of the 7ha site and would rather it be transformed into public open green space.
A petition — which was started by the Save Box Hill Brickworks Parkland group — has so far attracted more than 6870 signatures.
“The site is the last untouched greenfield expanse in the heart of Box Hill,” the petition reads
“Box Hill has many new high-rise residential towers and more planned.
“These provide much needed accommodation for Melbourne’s growing population, but there is a pressing need for more public open space.”
Petition organisers said other former quarry and landfill sites, such as Darebin Parklands in Fairfield and Northcote’s All Nations Park, have successfully been turned into parks.
“Imagine the Box Hill Brickworks site as a permanent green oasis, a sanctuary amid the urban density,” the petition read.
“Picture picnic areas, playgrounds, canopy trees, water features, winding trails and passive recreation areas for everyone to enjoy.”
The Save Box Hill Brickworks Parkland group will present its case for a park at the SRL committee hearings on October 21, while Whitehorse City Council is expected to make submissions next week.
The hearings will conclude on October 23 and a report will be prepared.
The Box Hill Brickworks first opened in 1884 and produced machine and hand made bricks, tiles, earthenware and porcelain.
The site was sold in 1905 and turned into a quarry which later became the “Surrey Dive” swimming hole.
The site returned to brick production in 1913 and continued until the final closure of the Brickworks in 1988.
The Brickworks site has sat fenced off and vacant since.
Phileo Australia was contacted for comment.
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