The urban design framework for the Aintree Major Town Centre (MTC) was adopted by Melton at last week’s council meeting.
An urban design framework is a planning document that sets out a vision for an area and guides its use and development over time through urban design principles, objectives, planning and design requirements and guidelines.
This document must be approved by a council as the responsible authority prior to considering any planning permit applications in the town centre.
The Aintree MTC site covers about 116 acres of commercial, mixed use, and residential land and is planned to cater for retail, residential, mixed use and community facilities.
According to Melton, it is situated in one of the fastest growing regions in Australia, where the Aintree suburb had 7982 residents in 2021 from a small base population of 334 residents in 2016.
It sits within the Rockbank North PSP, which according to the council, is expected to enable a population of more than 20,000 people once fully built.
This represents a more than 2300 per cent increase in five years.
According to Melton, the Aintree MTC in its ultimate form will create about 1420 dwellings; about 36,000 square metres of retail floor space; significant areas set aside for commercial, medical and entertainment; and over 6400 new jobs.
Councillor Julie Shannon said the town centre is vitally important for Melton’s future growth.
“It will be a place where our existing and future community will meet, shop, play, and work,” Cr Shannon said.
“The UDF provides a vision for the town centre and is a necessary step,” she said.
The two landowners in the UDF area are Aintree Major Town Centre Pty Ltd, who own land in the north and west of the UDF area, and Leakes Road Rockbank Pty Ltd – Woodlea – who own land in the south and east of UDF area.
