Is shrinking City of Melbourne the key to CBD growth?

A radical plan to slim down the City of Melbourne by forcing it to hand over suburbs to neighbouring councils has been touted as a way to help reinvigorate the CBD.

A radical idea to make the City of Melbourne smaller by forcing it to hand over suburbs to neighbouring councils has been floated as a way to reinvigorate the city centre.

Port Phillip councillor and former mayor Marcus Pearl told the Herald Sun that the Melbourne municipality needs to “shrink to grow again”.

He has suggested the western wedge of South Yarra be given to the City of Stonnington, Kensington and parts of Flemington and West Melbourne moved to the City of Moonee Valley or the City of Maribyrnong and Fishermans Bend handed to the City of Port Phillip.

The trimmed-down city could then concentrate on Carlton, Southbank and the city centre.

The suburbs currently covered by the City of Melbourne. Picture: City of Melbourne

“By reallocating (these) areas to the neighbouring councils, we can allow the City of Melbourne to zero on its core area of focus, which is the central business district, and those local communities can be connected to councils that represent their values,” he said.

“This will enable more targeted and effective governance, eliminating the distractions of managing areas outside the CBD at a time when we need focus to reinvigorate our capital city.”

Mr Pearl said the City of Melbourne had taken its eye off the ball when it came to the Fishermans Bend redevelopment, which it shares with the City of Port Phillip.

It is what prompted him to suggest that the municipality should hive off some areas to neighbouring councils.

“The City of Melbourne is stretched in the post-Covid world and key city-forming sites such as Fishermans Bend have not received the focus, energy and resources they demand,” he said.

“As a result, the state government is not being held to account for the delivery of key pieces of infrastructure, including public transport links and open space.”

Former Port Phillip mayor Marcus Pearl.

Outgoing Lord Mayor Sally Capp says Melbourne is best placed to deliver the Fishermans Bend precinct. Picture: David Crosling

But outgoing Lord Mayor Sally Capp is not a fan of the idea.

“We have the best, most-skilled and well-resourced strategic and statutory planning team in Victoria,” she said.

“We have a proven track record in the delivery of projects and precincts. Fishermans Bend is a highly prospective precinct that spans across the cities of Melbourne and Port Phillip.

“We’ve worked constructively with the City of Port Phillip on progressing the development of Fishermans Bend, which has included advocacy to the state government.

“If one city is best placed to deliver the entire precinct, it’s Melbourne.”

But Mr Pearl disagreed.

“Melbourne has the employment precinct predominantly and we (Port Phillip) have the other areas … the three main residential areas: Sandridge, Wirraway and Montague,” he said.

“And we’ve spent seven long years advocating for better outcomes for Fishermans Bend. We’ve been developing plans, allocating resources into state government departments, into the Fishermans Bend taskforce to get it done in developing plans, and the City of Melbourne has not done any of that, to be frank.”

Mr Pearl says Melbourne needs to ‘shrink to grow again’. Picture: iStock

Mr Pearl, a former mayor, said it was not a rates revenue grab, but a realistic realignment for the state government to consider after the local council elections in October.

Stonnington mayor Joe Gianfriddo noted Mr Pearl’s proposal was not on the table for consideration, at least yet.

“As mayor of Stonnington, I am focused on current issues of relevance to the Stonnington community,” he said.

Maribyrnong mayor Cuc Lam said the council was not aware of the proposal, and as such, did not have enough information to comment on the matter.

The local government minister has the power to alter boundaries between two councils.

Parts of Kensington and North Melbourne were transferred to the City of Melbourne from the City of Moonee Valley in July 2008 to support the “reunification” of the suburbs.