Stabling Network Support Facility UDLP engagement report

15 November 2024

Our city and state are growing. Melbourne will be a city of 9 million people by the 2050s – the size of London today. We need more transport and more homes in the right places — and Suburban Rail Loop (SRL) will deliver both. Construction of SRL East is powering ahead, with trains taking passengers by 2035 — slashing travel times, easing congestion and creating thousands of local jobs.

SRL East from Cheltenham to Box Hill will deliver six brand new underground stations, opening up access to health, education and employment destinations across Melbourne’s east and south east.

A Stabling Facility is required near the start of the line to allow SRL's fleet of new high-tech trains to begin services efficiently each day. The Stabling Facility will be built at 91-185 Kingston Road, Heatherton.

The dedicated Stabling Facility is a critical part of SRL East. It would not be possible to provide high frequency 'turn-up-and-go' train services for passengers without it.

The Stabling Facility will house the operational control centre for the new railway line and is also where the train fleet will be stored and maintained when not in service.

A network support facility will be built as part of the Stabling Facility to provide power during construction and operation of SRL East.

Construction of the Stabling network support facility

We are building a network support facility in the south east corner of the SRL East Stabling Facility at Heatherton.

The network support facility will be a mostly self-contained, unstaffed building containing electrical equipment that converts the local power supply into the voltage and type of current needed to power the tunnel boring machines during construction. Once construction of the tunnels is complete the network support facility will be reconfigured to provide power for operation of the SRL East network.

Urban Design and Landscape Plan

As part of the planning process an Urban Design and Landscape Plan (UDLP) is required to be prepared to the satisfaction of the Minister for Planning in accordance with the SRL East Incorporated Document August 2022 (Incorporated Document) before construction of permanent above ground buildings can begin.

The UDLP presents the proposed building and landscape design for the permanent above ground 66kV network support facility structure.

This UDLP is limited to the building housing the 66kV electrical equipment, with all other buildings and structures being reconfigured to support the operation of SRL East. Feedback from community consultation was considered in the final Stabling network support facility UDLP submitted to the Minister for Planning in accordance with the requirements. The UDLP has now been approved.

What we heard - Stabling network support facility

We consulted on the network support facility from 20 February to 20 March 2024.

We asked for feedback on a range of topics including design, external treatments and landscaping. Community feedback was collected via a survey on Engage Victoria.

To support this engagement, we provided information on the Stabling network support facility 66kV building via:

An advertisement in the Herald Sun
A social media post on Facebook
A postcard distributed to approximately 1600 properties in the vicinity of the Stabling Facility.

Community engagement snapshot

26 survey responses
Social media posts reaching more than 14,000 people
Almost 900 unique visitors to the Engage Victoria site
More than 75% of the respondents live nearby.

We heard from a range of age groups

Percentage	Survey participants by age group.
4%	Less than 18 years old
15%	18-34 years old
46%	35-49 years old
12%	50-65 years old
23%	Older than 65 years.

Community feedback

We’d like to thank the community for providing their feedback to help inform the final plan for the Stabling network support facility 66kV building.

Areas of interest

A summary of key feedback themes identified in responses to the Engage Victoria survey is included below. Feedback not directly related to the UDLP was collated and will inform future considerations as relevant.

Structure design

What we heard.

Respondents told us	Our response
They were concerned about the electrical fire safety of the building They wanted less concrete used in the construction of the building They wanted the aesthetics of the building to be aligned to the environment and other nearby buildings, and to have less straight lines.	The building has been designed in conjunction with United Energy who will operate the network support facility. This design meets Australian standards and the national construction code for fire safety compliance The most efficient and fire safety compliant material is pre-cast concrete panels. Alternative materials were considered however they did not meet the fire requirements of this building This building represents a design challenge as it sits within an environment which will be evolving and changing over the next 10 years. Community feedback has resulted in modification of key elements of the building such as exhaust louvres and vents to minimise their appearance and align them as key features of the form. The horizontal painted elements separating the wider lower portion from the upper section have also been removed.

Respondents told us

Our response

They were concerned about the electrical fire safety of the building
They wanted less concrete used in the construction of the building
They wanted the aesthetics of the building to be aligned to the environment and other nearby buildings, and to have less straight lines.

The building has been designed in conjunction with United Energy who will operate the network support facility. This design meets Australian standards and the national construction code for fire safety compliance
The most efficient and fire safety compliant material is pre-cast concrete panels. Alternative materials were considered however they did not meet the fire requirements of this building
This building represents a design challenge as it sits within an environment which will be evolving and changing over the next 10 years. Community feedback has resulted in modification of key elements of the building such as exhaust louvres and vents to minimise their appearance and align them as key features of the form. The horizontal painted elements separating the wider lower portion from the upper section have also been removed.

Structure colours

Respondents told us	Our response
They are concerned the black band separating the lower and upper structures caused the building to stand out too much They would like us to use colour variation to make the building look smaller.	The black band has been removed from the design The formliner to clad the upper section will use a muted earth tone oxide, reflective of the site’s ecology and history.

Visual amenity

Respondents told us	Our response
Lowering the building height is not under consideration. The lower height would cause water to runoff under the building. Additional redesign of the building would be needed to protect from flooding and ground water infiltration.	Lowering the building height is not under consideration. The lower height would cause water to runoff under the building. Additional redesign of the building would be needed to protect from flooding and ground water infiltration.

Landscaping

Respondents told us	Our response
They would like us to use native plants and leafy trees for landscaping to visually screen the site They would like to see embankments and greenery around the perimeter of the site making the area look like an extension of the residential zone They would like a visually pleasing perimeter with walking and cycling tracks or sculptural works They would like to retain as much existing vegetation as possible.	We will work with Kingston City Council and stakeholders to ensure new planted trees and vegetation align with local environmental conditions and the character of the area Landscaping around the perimeter of the Stabling Facility will be addressed through future UDLPs with further community consultation. The feedback from this UDLP will be considered in the remaining Stabling Facility design where relevant Existing vegetation is retained as much as possible. However, there are trees and vegetation required to be removed for construction of the network support facility and Stabling Facility.

Respondents told us

Our response

They would like us to use native plants and leafy trees for landscaping to visually screen the site
They would like to see embankments and greenery around the perimeter of the site making the area look like an extension of the residential zone
They would like a visually pleasing perimeter with walking and cycling tracks or sculptural works
They would like to retain as much existing vegetation as possible.

We will work with Kingston City Council and stakeholders to ensure new planted trees and vegetation align with local environmental conditions and the character of the area
Landscaping around the perimeter of the Stabling Facility will be addressed through future UDLPs with further community consultation. The feedback from this UDLP will be considered in the remaining Stabling Facility design where relevant
Existing vegetation is retained as much as possible. However, there are trees and vegetation required to be removed for construction of the network support facility and Stabling Facility.

Operational noise

Respondents told us	Our response
To reduce noise, there should be an acoustic cover or a screening cover.	Noise attenuation is not required for the 66kV building due to its location adjacent to Dingley Bypass and distance from residential homes. This decision was made per the Environment Protection Act 2017 and was supported by an acoustic and vibration consultant.

Next steps

All feedback provided was considered and informed the final UDLP, which was endorsed by the Minister for Planning on 19 July 2024. Construction on the above ground 66kV building for the Stabling network support facility is planned to begin in October 2024.

Download summary

SRL Stabling Network Support Facility UDLP engagement report (PDF 1.3 MB)