Box Hill is growing, and we need to plan now to cater for this growth in the decades ahead, actively delivering more homes and jobs where people want to live. As Australia’s largest housing project, Suburban Rail Loop (SRL) will not only connect our suburbs and slash travel times, it will ensure our city grows in the right places, supporting the delivery of more housing choice on the doorstep of world-class public transport, services, jobs, schools, parks and cafés.

The Vision for Box Hill sets out the long-term aspiration for the precinct to cater for anticipated growth. It sets the strategic direction for future planning and will inform the Box Hill Structure Plan. Together, these will guide planning, investment and development initiatives in the precinct.

Keep an eye out for the Draft Structure Plan in early 2025 – this will detail proposed land use and building height changes for further consultation.

The Vision for Box Hill includes a vision statement and a Conceptual Precinct Plan.

The Vision for Box Hill

A thriving, culturally dynamic and cosmopolitan place where global and local communities connect.

Box Hill will continue to be an exciting, culturally diverse destination – a connection between Melbourne’s east and the rest of our city and state. Its exceptional transport accessibility will elevate its strategic importance as one of Melbourne’s economic and lifestyle centres, and it will play a key role in the city’s visitor economy.

The centre of Box Hill is already the community heart and will continue to be a place where people can share experiences and traditions. Celebrating diversity will strengthen the connection between the many residents who call Box Hill home.

The wider area will be a place of many neighbourhoods – better connected to each other – each with its own character, identity and sense of place.

High quality design, greener streets and enhanced natural environments will support resilient and sustainable living and increase local biodiversity. Whitehorse Road will be a better experience for people and pedestrians. Leafy streets and open spaces will make walking and cycling between new and well-loved places more comfortable and enjoyable.

Building on existing strengths, new economic opportunities in Box Hill will leverage established health, education, cultural and recreational services, as well as the vibrant local business community. There will be a need for new homes, high quality offices, services and community amenities that strengthen both housing and employment choice and enhance quality of life for the growing Box Hill community.

SRL will unlock new opportunities to create a sustainable, affordable and vibrant lifestyle in Box Hill that continues to celebrate cultural diversity.

Conceptual Precinct Plan

The Conceptual Precinct Plan for Box Hill is a spatial representation of the Vision.

The plan identifies where longer-term change is expected to occur into the 2050s as Box Hill grows.

From time to time the plan may be refined by SRLA, in response to community needs and the detailed technical studies that will support the planning implementation through structure plans and planning scheme amendments.

How your feedback has directly shaped the Vision for Box Hill

Ideas, issues and opportunities from several years of community and stakeholder consultation have been essential to forming a long-term vision for Box Hill that reflects the community’s needs and expectations, as well as addressing the requirements
of a growing population.

Feedback from community and stakeholders has shaped the Vision for Box Hill, with the following updates made since we consulted on the Draft Precinct Vision in 2023/24:

Enriching Community

• Prioritises diverse housing options in strategic locations with convenient access to public transport, services and amenity
• Identifies medium change, mixed-use development areas that can provide more diverse housing options close to Box Hill Institute and Box Hill Hospital along Whitehorse Road and Station Street
• Encourages improved accessibility to community facilities that enable cultural and recreational activity

Boosting the Economy

• Better reflects the intent to attract new businesses and talent within the health and education sector and to intensify key employment areas
• Provides opportunities for expanded health, education and research uses to the north of Box Hill Hospital and identifies even more locations for diversified employment along Whitehorse Road and Station Street

Enhancing Place

• Prioritises more active and diversified uses along both Station Street and Whitehorse Road, to support local living and contribute to an enhanced and inclusive pedestrian experience
• Gives greater emphasis to an upgraded open space network. High quality design and development will be promoted around Whitehorse Road Linear Reserve to encourage recreation and activity within central Box Hill

Better Connections

• Prioritises pedestrians in dense areas of activity, particularly around the new SRL East station and Box Hill Central
• Captures the intent to transform the area around central Box Hill into an open and people-focused public space that integrates with and extends along Whitehorse Road
• Incorporates additional cross-precinct links between local destinations, such as Surrey Park, Box Hill Central, Laburnum Activity Centre, Box Hill Gardens and Box Hill Hospital

Delivering the Vision for Box Hill

SRLA is responsible for preparing and applying the required planning controls that will help to realise the Vision, commencing with the preparation of the Box Hill Structure Plan.

The draft structure plans for each SRL precinct and associated technical studies, along with draft planning scheme amendments, will be publicly released for consultation in early 2025. During this time people will have the opportunity to provide further feedback via a formal submission.

Following exhibition, the Minister for Planning may refer public submissions to an independent Advisory Committee which will consider the draft planning scheme amendments. If approved, the planning scheme amendments will be gazetted in 2026, meaning they will come into effect.

You can stay up to date with the structure planning process and opportunities to have your say by subscribing to our enews.

The engagement timeline for the SRL East structure plans and planning scheme amendments: