City of Melbourne Lord Mayor Nick Reece tipped to abandon plans for Greenline project

Melbourne City Council’s plan to revitalise the north bank of the Yarra River is set to be abandoned as Lord Mayor Nick Reece tries to rein in soaring debt.

The future of the $315m Greenline project to revitalise the north bank of the Yarra River is in limbo, with Melbourne Lord Mayor Nick Reece apparently unwilling to plunge the council into more debt to deliver it.

Mr Reece has told high-level council bureaucrats that he has no appetite to fund the project when the council’s finances are so strained, according to a senior Town Hall source.

“Nick Reece has privately admitted that the project won’t progress any further from Stage 1A that is underway now – there won’t be any new council funding for it,” the source said.

“It’s the right decision given how bad the books are but he won’t publicly say it because I believe he had some kind of agreement with (former lord mayor) Sally Capp to keep going with it and he publicly committed to it during the election.”

Lord Mayor Nick Reece looks set to walk away from the Greenline project. Picture: Supplied

Another council source said the Greenline project was one of a number of infrastructure projects that will be delayed or cancelled in the upcoming Budget due to Town Hall’s crippling level of debt – which is projected to reach $275 million next financial year without cuts.

“The spin around it is they will be ‘re-phased’ but essentially that means delayed or scrapped altogether,” the source said.

The Greenline project has a funding shortfall of more than $200 million and has attracted no investment from the Victorian Government and just $20 million from the Federal Government.

The project was a passion of Ms Capp, who initially proposed a high line over the rail viaduct in the 2018 lord mayoral by-election before changing it to 4km of parks and walkways along the north bank of the Yarra between Birrarung Marr and the Botle Bridge.

The City of Melbourne allocated $22.5 million in the 2024-25 Budget to deliver stage 1A of the project before it was delayed by a year. Picture: Supplied

The first stage of Greenline – being delivered by the council now – consists of 450 metres of new walkways along Birrarung Marr – just over 10 per cent of the total project.

Private developer Riverlee is building the Seafarers Rest park, which is also included in the Greenline project.

However, critical stages including Flinders Walk near the train station, the Banana Alley vaults and Batman Park are unlikely to receive enough funding to deliver them in the upcoming council budget next financial year or in future years.

The City of Melbourne allocated $22.5 million in the 2024-25 Budget to deliver stage 1A of the project – before it was delayed by a year – including $5 million in borrowings.

The council had proposed to spend $33 million in the years up until 2028 but this is expected to be slashed or scrapped altogether in the upcoming budget.

The first stage of the project, along Birrarung Marr, was meant to start in May 2024. Picture: Supplied

Mr Reece refused to answer the Herald Sun’s questions about whether any more funding would be forthcoming to deliver future stages after the area on Birrarung Marr is upgraded and said council would “consider the Greenline Project as part of the normal budget process”.

“We never said we’d deliver Greenline alone and we continue to work with project partners like the Federal Government, Riverlee and Lendlease, while also advocating for funding towards future stages of the project,” he said.

In February, Mr Reece backed down from a pledge to sell the Regent Theatre and he has repeatedly refused to answer if he will deliver on his promised to establish a group of 30 City Safety Officers to patrol CBD hotspots.

The first stage of Greenline, along Birrarung Marr, was meant to start in May 2024 but embarrassingly for the City of Melbourne it announced construction had started before securing a Melbourne water permit needed to start work. Work started last month.