Vegetation and landscaping

We’re building a new Croydon Transport Hub, incorporating extensive community feedback and detailed technical work. The transport hub will make it easier to get where you need to go and provide a modern and safe Croydon Station precinct.

We're building new road connections to replace the congested level crossing and roundabout, connecting Croydon's retail precincts and creating more open space across the rail line for all transport users.

Construction will start in Autumn 2023, and will finish in 2025, making the Lilydale line level crossing free.

We’ll need to start preparing the site by relocating utilities, setting up our site facilities and removing some vegetation that will be impacted by the works. We’ll also establish protection zones around existing trees and vegetation to be retained.

Preserving trees and vegetation

We are committed to reducing vegetation impacts wherever possible. During our consultation we heard that trees and vegetation are important to the Croydon community. We took this into consideration in our landscape planning and design.

We're increasing our earlier commitment to plant more than 60,000 trees, shrubs and grasses to over 70,000. This vegetation will be planted throughout the new station precinct.

We have also refined the construction methods to build the new rail bridge, which will mean more than 200 trees can be saved. Some vegetation removal will be required to undertake construction of the rail bridge, new station and bus interchange. Most of the impacted trees are in and around the railway corridor.

Assessing trees and vegetation

As part of our planning, independent arborists and ecologists have conducted comprehensive assessments of every individual tree and all vegetation within the project area at Coolstore Road.

These assessments help us identify any potential impacts to trees and vegetation that:

• pose a safety hazard to rail operations
• will be impacted by construction of the rail bridge, new station and car park
• will be impacted by combined service routes, utility works and drainage within the tree root zone.

Arborists have assessed more than 4600 trees in the project area to help determine:

• structural integrity, including the size and location of tree roots
• health and life expectancy
• amenity and environmental value
• location of services in proximity to trees
• the presence of wildlife and habitat.

As the project progresses, we’ll continue reviewing design and construction methods and assess the health of the trees during our works to retain as many trees as possible.

Protecting wildlife

Before tree and vegetation removal, we engage and work with licenced fauna handlers who inspect trees and vegetation, and safely rehome any fauna we may encounter.

These fauna handlers are also on site during any vegetation removal works to safely relocate any fauna discovered unexpectedly.

We’re using construction methods to save more trees

We are investigating the use of bored combined service route (CSR) in targeted locations. Bored CSR is where a drill is used to bore a channel under the ground.

The different services, such as electricity and train signalling equipment, are then pulled through the small tunnel and connected into the network.

While this method is not appropriate for all areas of the project, we’ve identified where bored CSR can be used to save more trees.

Replanting that reflects the local landscape

Our landscaping and re-vegetation plan will see more than 70,000 new trees, shrubs and plants delivered to Croydon.

The community told us they strongly supported a native planting scheme for Croydon. A few of the species being considered for the station precinct include:

• Silver wattle
• Blackwood
• Black sheoke
• Red box
• Long-leaved box
• Purple coral-pea
• Native violet
• Dusty miller
• Pink bells
• Tassel sedge
• Kangaroo grass
• Weeping grass.

The native planting design increases biodiversity in the Croydon area, including the addition of endangered native species to the planting scheme, such as long-leaved box trees.

We are harvesting seeds from the existing vegetation. This allows us to grow saplings, which will replace trees that were removed. Seed harvesting helps maintain connection to the area and replenish existing species.

Landscaping will take place once construction finishes in 2025 and we’ll provide more details as the project progresses.

Repurposing trees for the community

We’ll work with local community groups and Maroondah City Council to discuss how some of the removed vegetation can be used for local initiatives and projects.

Some of the programs we'll look to explore include:

• donating logs to community groups, gardens, schools, Indigenous organisations, and artists
• donating native seedlings to local nurseries for future planting
• mulch for landscaping and revegetation
• reuse of hollow tree logs for habitat.

If you’re part of a group that could use timber for local community initiatives, email the project team at contact@levelcrossings.vic.gov.au or call 1800 105 105.