Boom towns: How Victoria's growth areas are changing our landscape

Bursting at the seams. These amazing aerial photographs reveal just how much Victoria has boomed in the past decade.

These are the stunning images that show just how much Victoria has changed over the past decade.

Growth areas on the fringes of established population centres now account for more than a third of new builds each year, according to the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning.

Each year there are about 17,000 new residential construction projects in Victoria alone – 14,000 within metropolitan Melbourne and 3000 in regional Victoria.

The growth has led to remarkable changes in our urban environment, with undeveloped bushland and farms making way for new housing estates catering to Victoria’s growing population.

Holding the title of Australia’s fastest growing state, Victoria is expected to be home to almost 8 million people by 2030 – an increase of 125,000 each year.

Photos from aerial imagery company Nearmap reveal the stark changes over the past decade and hint at what’s to come.

Nearmap aims to capture aerial imagery following every major natural disaster in Australia that has a significant impact on property, infrastructure, and communities.

Nearmap ImpactResponse combines the firm’s leading aerial imagery, location intelligence and geospatial tools so businesses in sectors including government, insurance, and property have access to current information on the ground following natural disasters, at a time when ground access is limited, and inspection resources are stretched.

GEELONG

With a population of about 265,000, Geelong is one of Victoria’s fastest growing regional centres with a population growth of about 2.5 per cent each year.

According to the most recent census data, the city contains about 132,000 homes, with about 2500 new dwellings built each year.

More than 60 per cent of these are concentrated in new growth areas on the outskirts of Geelong, such as Armstrong Creek, Oceans Grove, Wandana Heights and Warun Ponds.

Mayor Stephane Asher predicts the southwest city will experience a population surge of about 125,000 by 2035, necessitating the development of new housing options.

BENDIGO

The fourth largest city in Victoria, Bendigo, is home to about 120,000 people with that figure expected to grow by about 1.6 per cent each year.

According to the most recent census, the inland city has about 70,000 homes, with about 1300 new homes constructed each year.

City of Greater Bendigo acting director of strategy and growth, Ben Devanny, said about 45 per cent of new constructs occur in the greenfield areas of Bendigo, including Strathfieldsaye.

As can be seen in the pictures below, Strathfieldsaye has one of Bendigo’s highest rates of population growth at 4.5 per cent as new dwellings are built each year.

Mr Deevanny said 844 homes have been built in Strathfieldsaye over the past decade, with an expected 2000 more by 2036.

“Strathfieldsaye is an attractive area for residents and is located in a rural setting close to the beauty of the national parks and just 9km from Bendigo’s city centre,” he said.

“The city has carried out a substantial amount of work to encourage appropriate development in Strathfieldsaye.”

BALLARAT

A legacy city of the Victorian gold rush, Ballarat is home to about 110,000 people with that figure expected to grow 1.7 per cent per year.

At the most recent census, the central highlands city includes 72,663 homes, building about 1200 new dwellings per year.

Ballarat expects its population to grow by up to 60,000 by 2050 and has introduced the idea of the “10-minute city” to guide its planning process.

In line with the strategy much of Ballarat’s residential development over the past decade has been seen in the western growth area, in the existing suburb of Wendouree and newly developed suburbs, such as Lucas and Alfredton.

Ballarat chief executive Evan King said about 7500 new dwellings have been built in the West Growth area over the past decade, compared to 2000 across the rest of the city.

“Research done by the City of Ballarat has indicated people are moving to Ballarat from metropolitan and regional areas across Australia for a number of reasons including more affordable housing, excellent services including schools and healthcare, easy access to Melbourne and a more relaxed, traffic free lifestyle,” he said.

SHEPPARTON

The northern Victorian city is home to about 70,000 people with that figure expected to grow by about 1.2 per cent each year.

At the most recent census, Greater Shepparton included 57,409 homes, building about 500 new dwellings per year.

Much of the residential development seen over the past decade occurred within the Shepparton urban centre and Kialla suburbs as seen in the images below.

MELBOURNE SOUTH EAST

Suburbs in Melbourne’s southeast are expanding at a rapid rate and are expected to surge by 500,000 residents to reach two million by 2036.

Preparing for this land has been unlocked for new development around Cardinia, Casey and the Mornington Peninsula over the past decade as seen in the incredible aerial photos below.

At the most recent census, there are more than 5500 homes constructed each year in these areas accounting for the population growth.

In Casey alone, more than 15,000 homes have been built over the past five years, centred around the areas of Cranbourne East and Clyde North.

City of Casey manager of growth and Investment Kathryn Seirlis said the municipality‘s population growth had suffered little impact from Covid, but instead had record building approvals.

“Clyde is home to 8685 and set to grow to more than 70,000+ by 2041, an increase of 706 per cent,” she said.

MELBOURNE NORTH

Melbourne’s outer northern suburbs have grown by more than 20 per cent over the past decade and are now home to more than 500,000 people.

Predicted to grow by about 2.6 per cent per annum, land along the urban fringe is being rezoned to allow for continued expansion of areas in Whittlesea, Hume and Nillumbik.

At the most recent census, more than 5300 homes are being built in these areas each year to match the population growth, centred around Mernda and Craigieburn.

A Hume City spokesman said the city expected the population of Craigieburn to boom to more than 78,000 by 2041 and a number of major infrastructure projects had been devised to improve liveability.

“Hume City Council continues to work in close partnership to ensure services and facilities such as primary and secondary schools and other important community infrastructure are delivered to meet population growth,” he said.

MELBOURNE WEST

Population centres in Melbourne’s west are among the fastest growing suburbs in the country, with some rising at an unprecedented rate of more than 4 per cent per annum over the past decade.

Housing about 879,000 people, or 20 per cent of Melbourne’s population, the area is tipped to crack one million residents before 2030.

The suburbs of Wyndham and Melton experienced population growth of more than 4.5 per cent over the past year, leading the local councils to call for investment from the state and federal governments.

At the most recent census, there were more than 5000 homes constructed each year around Rockbank, Tarneit and Truganina.

“As the fastest growing municipality in Victoria, we need support and assistance from all levels of government. We can’t do it alone,” former mayor Adele Hegedich said earlier this year.

“Wyndham needs governments to invest in the future of our city.”

The stunning aerial imagery is from Australian location intelligence company Nearmap.

The company provides government organisations, architectural, construction and engineering firms, and other companies, with easy, instant access to high resolution aerial imagery, city-scale 3D content, artificial intelligence data sets, and geospatial tools to assist with urban planning, monitoring and development projects in Australia, New Zealand, and North America.