The amended CBD North Precinct Development Plan was available for public display and comment from Thursday 24 March 2022 until Thursday 14 April 2022.
As part of the amended Development Plan submission to the Minister for Planning, Cross Yarra Partnership (CYP) provided all written comments received during the stakeholder and community consultation period.
In total, 6 submissions were received for the amended CBD North Precinct Development Plan. The key issues raised in feedback received included:
- materials and finishes
- public realm
- landscape design.
Architectural design and materials and finishes
The CBD North precinct has been designed to integrate seamlessly with the surrounding built environment. The station design features materials and finishes that have been selected in consultation with City of Melbourne and the Office of the Victorian Government Architect (OVGA), and comply with the City of Melbourne Design Standards as per the Project Scope and Technical Requirements. Materials and finishes have been prepared to highlight the colour tones and textures of the CBD North precinct.
The Material Schedule has been updated to add the colour red. CYP has also updated the Material Schedule to include ‘Melon Yellow’ for the Franklin Street ancillary building vents in consultation with key stakeholders including OVGA, RPV and City of Melbourne.
Regarding the location of plant equipment for the Little La Trobe Street buildings, there are 3 cooling towers located at level 3 (roof level) of the Little La Trobe Street shaft. Careful attention to cooling tower equipment selection and attenuation has been undertaken to ensure noise compliance, due to proximity of noise sensitive areas, Cooling towers will have discharge attenuators, and acoustic louvres to the façade at level 3.
Landscape
To deliver a major project of this scale and complexity, some tree removal is required to allow the safe construction of stations and associated infrastructure. The Project is committed to protecting and retaining as many trees as possible. The design process considers any tree impacts on an individual – tree by tree – basis and methodologies are adjusted wherever possible to protect trees. The Project’s overall objective is to double tree canopy across the entire Metro Tunnel Project and revitalise public spaces.
The amended CBD North Precinct Development Plan requires 57 trees for removal, which is the same number of trees as the previously approved Development Plan. Furthermore, the CYP design reinstates more existing trees than currently exist, particularly at Franklin Street and A’Beckett Street. 63 new trees will be planted within the CBD North precinct that will contribute to the Project’s overall objective to double tree canopy.
Public realm
The public realm design response for the CBD North precinct has responded to both the project wide and precinct specific design principles to create unique and engaging public spaces. Importantly, the CBD North precinct functions as the central city’s northern threshold, an eclectic, place of energy and street performance. Project works will require alteration to Swanston, Franklin and A’Beckett Streets, shifting the emphasis towards sustainable transport choices such as active transport.
CYP has updated Section 4.3.3 of the CBD North Precinct Development Plan (Public realm response) to clarify design elements of A’Beckett Street. In addition, CYP has provided information to explain that changes to road layout and zones are to be determined by the relevant Road Authority and outside the scope of this Development Plan. During the design development process, pedestrian modelling has been undertaken which resulted in a number of changes to improve pedestrian access and connectivity across the precinct.