title: Wallan East Precinct Structure Plan council: mitchell state: vic category: growth-area classification: MAJOR status: in-progress last_compiled: 2026-05-31 source_docs:
- Wallan-East-Part-1-PSP-Review-of-Community-Infrastructure-Needs-ASR-Research-November-2022.pdf
- web-research-L1-wallan-east-icp-status-update-vpa-2022-10.txt
- web-research-L1-wallan-east-icp-status-update-vpa-2023-03.txt
- web-research-L1-wallan-east-psp-vpa-project-paused.txt
Wallan East Precinct Structure Plan
Wallan East PSP Part 1 is a state-led greenfield planning process at the northern edge of metropolitan Melbourne’s North Growth Corridor, but the available corpus shows it is not yet a final statutory PSP with an exhibited precinct plan, approved development contributions schedule, or adopted land budget (Source: web-research-L1-wallan-east-psp-vpa-project-paused.txt). The planning consequence is that the current evidence can identify the scale of likely residential growth, community infrastructure needs, and major unresolved dependencies, but cannot yet confirm final land-use controls, infrastructure charges, staging triggers, or statutory amendment outcomes (Source: Wallan-East-Part-1-PSP-Review-of-Community-Infrastructure-Needs-ASR-Research-November-2022.pdf, pp.4-7; Source: web-research-L1-wallan-east-icp-status-update-vpa-2023-03.txt).
Background
The Wallan East PSP Part 1 forms part of the 2012 Northern Growth Corridor of Metropolitan Melbourne and sits at the far north-eastern end of the corridor plan (Source: Wallan-East-Part-1-PSP-Review-of-Community-Infrastructure-Needs-ASR-Research-November-2022.pdf, p.5). The PSP process followed the VPA’s early engagement model, with pitching sessions informed by overlapping Wallan South stakeholders and tailored to Wallan East-specific issues (Source: Wallan-East-Part-1-PSP-Review-of-Community-Infrastructure-Needs-ASR-Research-November-2022.pdf, pp.6-7). The core themes identified through that early work were completing the future city of Wallan, responding to natural and physical context, managing water in an integrated way, supporting transit-oriented development around Wallan Station, contributing to the local economy, and encouraging sustainable development outcomes (Source: Wallan-East-Part-1-PSP-Review-of-Community-Infrastructure-Needs-ASR-Research-November-2022.pdf, pp.6-7).
The VPA project page records the project as advanced to completion of the co-design stage before being paused in October 2024 (Source: web-research-L1-wallan-east-psp-vpa-project-paused.txt). The same project page states that Wallan East Part 1 was not included in the VPA Business Plan 2024-25 and is instead included in Horizon 2 of the 10-year plan for Melbourne’s greenfields, with recommencement targeted between 2025-26 and 2028-29 (Source: web-research-L1-wallan-east-psp-vpa-project-paused.txt). This means Wallan East is not abandoned, but it is also not currently shown in the available sources as an exhibited or approved PSP (Source: web-research-L1-wallan-east-psp-vpa-project-paused.txt).
Analysis
Land Supply, Population, and Yield
The community infrastructure assessment models two Wallan East Part 1 development scenarios: a low scenario of 1,547 dwellings and a high scenario of 1,956 dwellings (Source: Wallan-East-Part-1-PSP-Review-of-Community-Infrastructure-Needs-ASR-Research-November-2022.pdf, p.4). The broader Wallan and Beveridge area is estimated to have capacity for 36,475 to 40,105 dwellings and 113,073 to 124,326 people at 3.1 persons per household (Source: Wallan-East-Part-1-PSP-Review-of-Community-Infrastructure-Needs-ASR-Research-November-2022.pdf, p.11). On those assumptions, Wallan East Part 1 represents only about 4 to 5 percent of the dwelling capacity across the wider Wallan-Beveridge growth area, so it is a small component of regional land supply but a material local precinct for eastern Wallan (Source: Wallan-East-Part-1-PSP-Review-of-Community-Infrastructure-Needs-ASR-Research-November-2022.pdf, pp.11-12).
The assessment identifies Wallan East Part 1 as approximately 127 hectares gross developable area, translating to about 76 to 89 hectares net developable area under the high-level capacity method used in the report (Source: Wallan-East-Part-1-PSP-Review-of-Community-Infrastructure-Needs-ASR-Research-November-2022.pdf, p.11). A later community infrastructure table uses a preliminary net developable area of approximately 75.61 hectares for open space calculations, which is consistent with the lower end of that NDA range and indicates the infrastructure analysis is working from a net rather than gross land base (Source: Wallan-East-Part-1-PSP-Review-of-Community-Infrastructure-Needs-ASR-Research-November-2022.pdf, p.42). The low scenario assumes about 20 dwellings per net developable hectare for most PSP land plus 35 dwellings per net developable hectare for 1 hectare of Department of Transport land, while the high scenario assumes about 25 dwellings per net developable hectare for most PSP land plus 22 dwellings per net developable hectare for 3 hectares of Department of Transport land (Source: Wallan-East-Part-1-PSP-Review-of-Community-Infrastructure-Needs-ASR-Research-November-2022.pdf, p.38).
The population range is sensitive to both the dwelling scenario and household-size assumption: the low scenario produces about 4,332 to 4,796 people, while the high scenario produces about 5,477 to 6,064 people (Source: Wallan-East-Part-1-PSP-Review-of-Community-Infrastructure-Needs-ASR-Research-November-2022.pdf, p.38). The wider Wallan small area was estimated at 16,444 people in 2022 and forecast to reach 49,870 people by 2041, an increase of 34,972 people or 235 percent (Source: Wallan-East-Part-1-PSP-Review-of-Community-Infrastructure-Needs-ASR-Research-November-2022.pdf, p.14). Wallan East therefore sits inside a much larger service-catchment transformation, where planning for one 1,500 to 2,000 dwelling precinct must be coordinated with a township forecast to more than triple over two decades (Source: Wallan-East-Part-1-PSP-Review-of-Community-Infrastructure-Needs-ASR-Research-November-2022.pdf, pp.11-14).
Movement, Rail, and Regional Access Dependencies
The early PSP issues list shows that Wallan East is not just a residential land-release exercise; it is tied to unresolved transport decisions around Wallan-Whittlesea Road, Wallan Station, the rail corridor, the Hume Freeway, and the Beveridge Intermodal Freight Precinct (Source: Wallan-East-Part-1-PSP-Review-of-Community-Infrastructure-Needs-ASR-Research-November-2022.pdf, pp.7-8). The listed unresolved matters include the connection north via Kelby Lane, points of connection to the existing Wallan township, links to Wallara Waters and Newbridge, access to Wallan Station across the rail corridor, the future design and configuration of Wallan Station, and potential train stabling (Source: Wallan-East-Part-1-PSP-Review-of-Community-Infrastructure-Needs-ASR-Research-November-2022.pdf, pp.7-8).
Wallan-Whittlesea Road is identified as requiring widening and upgrade, and its arterial-road grade separation form had not been decided in the source material (Source: Wallan-East-Part-1-PSP-Review-of-Community-Infrastructure-Needs-ASR-Research-November-2022.pdf, p.7). The same issue list states that Wallan-Whittlesea Road forms part of the future Principal Freight Network and that the potential 24-hour operation of freight to the Beveridge Intermodal Freight Precinct needs to be considered (Source: Wallan-East-Part-1-PSP-Review-of-Community-Infrastructure-Needs-ASR-Research-November-2022.pdf, pp.7-8). The mechanism is straightforward: if freight, arterial widening, grade separation, station access, and local residential access are all unresolved, then the PSP cannot reliably fix road reservations, urban structure, noise responses, or staging triggers until transport agencies settle the corridor requirements (Source: Wallan-East-Part-1-PSP-Review-of-Community-Infrastructure-Needs-ASR-Research-November-2022.pdf, pp.7-8).
The VPA project page lists a January 2022 Traffic Assessment by Ratio, a July 2020 Utility Services Assessment by Jacobs, a 2020 Alluvium integrated water management report, and other technical background studies, but the manifest does not include extracted text for those reports except the community infrastructure assessment (Source: web-research-L1-wallan-east-psp-vpa-project-paused.txt). Because the traffic assessment text is not in the manifest, this page cannot identify intersection warrants, road cross-sections, traffic modelling thresholds, or DCP-funded transport items (Source: web-research-L1-wallan-east-psp-vpa-project-paused.txt). This is a critical analytical gap because the early issues list already indicates transport geometry and agency requirements are central to whether the future urban structure can be fixed (Source: Wallan-East-Part-1-PSP-Review-of-Community-Infrastructure-Needs-ASR-Research-November-2022.pdf, pp.7-8).
Community Infrastructure Package
The community infrastructure assessment recommends a Level 2 multipurpose community centre on a 1.2 hectare site because Wallan East is relatively isolated from services west of the train line and because Wallara Waters and Newbridge provision affects the local service catchment (Source: Wallan-East-Part-1-PSP-Review-of-Community-Infrastructure-Needs-ASR-Research-November-2022.pdf, pp.39, 48). The indicative provision plan places this community hub with an 8 hectare active open space reserve, 3 hectares of distributed passive open space, 0.6 hectares of indoor recreation land, and a 3.5 hectare government P-6 primary school site (Source: Wallan-East-Part-1-PSP-Review-of-Community-Infrastructure-Needs-ASR-Research-November-2022.pdf, p.55). These figures imply about 16.3 hectares of identified community, education, open space, and indoor recreation land before any transport, drainage, utilities, or conservation land-take is considered (Source: Wallan-East-Part-1-PSP-Review-of-Community-Infrastructure-Needs-ASR-Research-November-2022.pdf, p.55).
Early years demand is significant relative to the precinct’s size. The assessment estimates demand for 157 to 198 long day childcare places, equivalent to about two medium or large centres, but states that Mitchell Shire Council will not directly provide additional long day childcare and will instead encourage private-for-profit and community not-for-profit provision (Source: Wallan-East-Part-1-PSP-Review-of-Community-Infrastructure-Needs-ASR-Research-November-2022.pdf, p.39). For kindergarten, the assessment estimates that Wallan East may require up to four sessional kindergarten rooms and recommends that the proposed multipurpose community centre anticipate four kindergarten rooms at 33 licensed places each (Source: Wallan-East-Part-1-PSP-Review-of-Community-Infrastructure-Needs-ASR-Research-November-2022.pdf, pp.40, 48). For maternal and child health, one consulting room is estimated to satisfy demand, but two rooms are recommended to support a dual-nurse model and to provide contingency for possible future residential expansion south of the PSP (Source: Wallan-East-Part-1-PSP-Review-of-Community-Infrastructure-Needs-ASR-Research-November-2022.pdf, pp.40, 48).
The education recommendation is for one government primary school site of 3.5 hectares, while a government secondary school and government specialist school are not recommended within Wallan East because of the precinct’s population scale, its relationship to existing Wallan Secondary College, and likely specialist provision through Wallan South (Source: Wallan-East-Part-1-PSP-Review-of-Community-Infrastructure-Needs-ASR-Research-November-2022.pdf, pp.43, 50). The report also states that Wallan East’s proximity to Wallan Station may attract interest from independent secondary and higher education providers that draw from larger catchments than a government primary school (Source: Wallan-East-Part-1-PSP-Review-of-Community-Infrastructure-Needs-ASR-Research-November-2022.pdf, pp.42, 50, 55). This is not a confirmed land-use allocation in the available corpus; it is framed as a special investigation location requiring further engagement with education providers (Source: Wallan-East-Part-1-PSP-Review-of-Community-Infrastructure-Needs-ASR-Research-November-2022.pdf, pp.50, 55).
Open space provision is more than a simple percentage calculation. The report applies a preliminary NDA of 75.61 hectares and identifies a 4 percent passive open space requirement of about 3 hectares, distributed within 400 metres of every household (Source: Wallan-East-Part-1-PSP-Review-of-Community-Infrastructure-Needs-ASR-Research-November-2022.pdf, pp.42, 51). For active open space, the same NDA base would produce about 4.5 hectares at a 6 percent benchmark, but the assessment recommends one active reserve of about 8 hectares because of active open space shortages in nearby Wallara Waters and Newbridge (Source: Wallan-East-Part-1-PSP-Review-of-Community-Infrastructure-Needs-ASR-Research-November-2022.pdf, pp.42, 51). The practical implication is that Wallan East may carry a larger active recreation land allocation than its own resident population alone would require, because it is partly correcting a subregional service distribution issue (Source: Wallan-East-Part-1-PSP-Review-of-Community-Infrastructure-Needs-ASR-Research-November-2022.pdf, pp.42, 51).
Infrastructure Contributions and Funding Mechanism
The October 2022 VPA update states that the VPA was working with Mitchell Shire Council to resolve issues raised during agency validation and would focus on resolving infrastructure to be funded by the Wallan East Infrastructure Contributions Plan (Source: web-research-L1-wallan-east-icp-status-update-vpa-2022-10.txt). The March 2023 update states that the VPA was working with Council, landowners, and technical experts to respond to council and state agency consultation, and that resolving infrastructure to be funded by the ICP would inform the draft PSP and ICP for public consultation (Source: web-research-L1-wallan-east-icp-status-update-vpa-2023-03.txt). These updates show that the ICP was not merely an administrative appendix; it was one of the active blockers to public consultation because the funded infrastructure package still had to be settled (Source: web-research-L1-wallan-east-icp-status-update-vpa-2022-10.txt; Source: web-research-L1-wallan-east-icp-status-update-vpa-2023-03.txt).
The available extracted documents do not provide the ICP levy rate, charge area, apportionment method, list of funded works, indexation settings, or works-in-kind assumptions (Source: web-research-L1-wallan-east-icp-status-update-vpa-2023-03.txt). The absence of those details means this page cannot quantify per-hectare or per-lot contribution effects, even though the community infrastructure report identifies multiple items that may require land or capital funding, including the 1.2 hectare community centre site, 8 hectare active reserve, 3 hectares of passive open space, 0.6 hectare indoor recreation site, and 3.5 hectare primary school site (Source: Wallan-East-Part-1-PSP-Review-of-Community-Infrastructure-Needs-ASR-Research-November-2022.pdf, p.55). The gap matters because an ICP converts identified infrastructure needs into a legal funding mechanism, and the draft PSP cannot be assessed fully without knowing which items are included, which are excluded, and how costs are apportioned (Source: web-research-L1-wallan-east-icp-status-update-vpa-2023-03.txt).
Environment, Utilities, Bushfire, Heritage, Noise, and Soils
The VPA project page lists background studies for bushfire, historical cultural heritage, native vegetation, flora and fauna, gas pipeline safety, noise, utilities, sodic soils, arboriculture, traffic, landscape and connectivity, water, and biodiversity (Source: web-research-L1-wallan-east-psp-vpa-project-paused.txt). This document inventory indicates that Wallan East has the normal suite of greenfield PSP constraints, but the manifest does not provide extracted text for most of those technical studies (Source: web-research-L1-wallan-east-psp-vpa-project-paused.txt). The community infrastructure assessment also references integrated water management and identifies water management as one of the six early planning themes, but it does not provide basin locations, waterway corridor land-take, flood storage requirements, or drainage staging triggers (Source: Wallan-East-Part-1-PSP-Review-of-Community-Infrastructure-Needs-ASR-Research-November-2022.pdf, pp.6-7).
Because the Jacobs utility report and Yarra Valley Water appendices are listed but not extracted in the manifest, this page cannot determine whether water, sewer, non-drinking water, electricity, gas, or telecommunications are binding development constraints (Source: web-research-L1-wallan-east-psp-vpa-project-paused.txt). Because the Alluvium integrated water management report is listed but not extracted, this page cannot quantify drainage assets, retarding basin land-take, waterway interfaces, or stormwater sequencing (Source: web-research-L1-wallan-east-psp-vpa-project-paused.txt). Because the Ratio traffic assessment is listed but not extracted, this page cannot quantify intersection works, road-reservation widths, traffic volumes, or public transport staging (Source: web-research-L1-wallan-east-psp-vpa-project-paused.txt). These are not minor omissions; they are the technical reports that normally determine whether the high scenario of 1,956 dwellings can be delivered without unacceptable infrastructure or environmental constraints (Source: Wallan-East-Part-1-PSP-Review-of-Community-Infrastructure-Needs-ASR-Research-November-2022.pdf, p.4; Source: web-research-L1-wallan-east-psp-vpa-project-paused.txt).
Relationship to Wallan South, Wallara Waters, Newbridge, Beveridge, and Cloverton
Wallan East is planned in a service network that extends beyond the PSP boundary. The community infrastructure assessment states that the Wallan South PSP was being prepared at the same time, and that many Wallan South stakeholders overlapped with Wallan East stakeholders (Source: Wallan-East-Part-1-PSP-Review-of-Community-Infrastructure-Needs-ASR-Research-November-2022.pdf, pp.6, 12). The report also identifies existing and planned estates around Wallan, including Spring Ridge, King and Queen Street, Rowes Lane, Newbridge, and Wallara Waters (Source: Wallan-East-Part-1-PSP-Review-of-Community-Infrastructure-Needs-ASR-Research-November-2022.pdf, p.12). This means Wallan East’s community infrastructure cannot be interpreted as a standalone precinct schedule; it is partly a catchment response to already-approved and in-progress development west of the rail line (Source: Wallan-East-Part-1-PSP-Review-of-Community-Infrastructure-Needs-ASR-Research-November-2022.pdf, pp.12, 39, 42).
The report recommends no new library in Wallan East because the precinct is relatively small and because Wallan Library is nearby, but it also notes that Wallan Library is small by contemporary standards and not fit for purpose due largely to its lack of contemporary library space (Source: Wallan-East-Part-1-PSP-Review-of-Community-Infrastructure-Needs-ASR-Research-November-2022.pdf, pp.41, 49). This creates a service-planning tension: Wallan East alone may not justify a new library, but growth across Wallan-Beveridge may require a broader library response that is outside the narrow PSP boundary (Source: Wallan-East-Part-1-PSP-Review-of-Community-Infrastructure-Needs-ASR-Research-November-2022.pdf, pp.14, 41, 49). The same pattern appears in health and justice services, where acute health investment and law courts are directed toward the future Cloverton Metropolitan Activity Centre rather than Wallan East itself (Source: Wallan-East-Part-1-PSP-Review-of-Community-Infrastructure-Needs-ASR-Research-November-2022.pdf, pp.45, 52).
Current Status
The VPA project page records the Wallan East Part 1 project as paused in October 2024 and targeted to recommence in Horizon 2 of the 10-year plan for Melbourne’s greenfields, between 2025-26 and 2028-29 (Source: web-research-L1-wallan-east-psp-vpa-project-paused.txt). The project page also states that the VPA had progressed planning to completion of the co-design stage, so the project is expected to recommence from an advanced stage rather than from initial scoping (Source: web-research-L1-wallan-east-psp-vpa-project-paused.txt). The latest process evidence in the manifest before the pause is the March 2023 VPA update, which stated that responses to council and agency consultation and the ICP infrastructure package would inform a draft PSP and ICP for public consultation (Source: web-research-L1-wallan-east-icp-status-update-vpa-2023-03.txt).
Dependencies
- Blocks: Final urban structure, residential subdivision sequencing, community infrastructure land reservations, and ICP charge settings cannot be confirmed until the PSP and ICP progress to draft consultation or exhibition (Source: web-research-L1-wallan-east-icp-status-update-vpa-2023-03.txt; Source: web-research-L1-wallan-east-psp-vpa-project-paused.txt).
- Blocked by: The available sources identify unresolved agency, Council, landowner, and technical expert issues; unresolved ICP-funded infrastructure; unresolved Wallan-Whittlesea Road and station-access matters; and the VPA program pause to Horizon 2 (Source: web-research-L1-wallan-east-icp-status-update-vpa-2022-10.txt; Source: web-research-L1-wallan-east-icp-status-update-vpa-2023-03.txt; Source: Wallan-East-Part-1-PSP-Review-of-Community-Infrastructure-Needs-ASR-Research-November-2022.pdf, pp.7-8; Source: web-research-L1-wallan-east-psp-vpa-project-paused.txt).
- Informed by: The VPA project page lists technical studies across bushfire, community infrastructure, heritage, native vegetation, flora and fauna, gas pipeline safety, noise, utilities, sodic soils, arboriculture, traffic, urban design, water, biodiversity, and co-design outputs (Source: web-research-L1-wallan-east-psp-vpa-project-paused.txt).
- Implements: The PSP sits within the 2012 Northern Growth Corridor framework and is now scheduled through Horizon 2 of the 10-year plan for Melbourne’s greenfields (Source: Wallan-East-Part-1-PSP-Review-of-Community-Infrastructure-Needs-ASR-Research-November-2022.pdf, p.5; Source: web-research-L1-wallan-east-psp-vpa-project-paused.txt).
- Conflicts with: The available sources do not identify a formal policy conflict, but they do identify unresolved tensions between local residential access, freight movement on the Principal Freight Network, Wallan Station access, possible train stabling, and regional infrastructure planning for the Beveridge Intermodal Freight Precinct (Source: Wallan-East-Part-1-PSP-Review-of-Community-Infrastructure-Needs-ASR-Research-November-2022.pdf, pp.7-8).
Cross-Jurisdictional Links
Wallan East is connected to the broader North Growth Corridor through transport, freight, education, health, and recreation catchments rather than through Mitchell Shire alone (Source: Wallan-East-Part-1-PSP-Review-of-Community-Infrastructure-Needs-ASR-Research-November-2022.pdf, pp.5, 7-8, 45, 52). The Beveridge Intermodal Freight Precinct affects planning because Wallan-Whittlesea Road is identified as part of the future Principal Freight Network and because potential 24-hour freight movement has amenity and network implications for Wallan East (Source: Wallan-East-Part-1-PSP-Review-of-Community-Infrastructure-Needs-ASR-Research-November-2022.pdf, pp.7-8). Cloverton is relevant because the community infrastructure assessment points higher-order health and justice functions toward the future Cloverton Metropolitan Activity Centre rather than locating those functions inside Wallan East (Source: Wallan-East-Part-1-PSP-Review-of-Community-Infrastructure-Needs-ASR-Research-November-2022.pdf, pp.45, 52).
Gaps in This Analysis
The main corpus gap is that the manifest contains the VPA project page and one community infrastructure PDF, but not extracted text for the technical reports listed on the VPA page, including the Ratio traffic assessment, Jacobs utility assessment and Yarra Valley Water appendices, Alluvium integrated water management report, WSP flora and fauna reports, WSP draft native vegetation precinct plan, Terramatrix and CFA bushfire assessments, Archaeology at Tardis heritage assessment, Marshall Day noise reports, Delphi AS 2885.1 safety management report, Jacobs sodic soils assessment, Tree Logic arboricultural reports, and Frank Hanson landscape and connectivity assessment (Source: web-research-L1-wallan-east-psp-vpa-project-paused.txt). Without those reports, this page cannot quantify road works, sewer and water servicing capacity, drainage land-take, biodiversity offsets, heritage curtilages, bushfire setbacks, acoustic treatments, soil-management costs, or arboricultural retention outcomes (Source: web-research-L1-wallan-east-psp-vpa-project-paused.txt).
A second gap is the absence of the draft PSP, draft ICP, final ICP levy schedule, amendment documentation, public submissions, panel or advisory committee material, and gazettal evidence (Source: web-research-L1-wallan-east-icp-status-update-vpa-2023-03.txt; Source: web-research-L1-wallan-east-psp-vpa-project-paused.txt). Because those statutory documents are absent, this page should be treated as a pre-statutory analytical page rather than a final PSP implementation briefing (Source: web-research-L1-wallan-east-icp-status-update-vpa-2023-03.txt; Source: web-research-L1-wallan-east-psp-vpa-project-paused.txt). These gaps should be logged in _gaps as a critical multi-document VPA corpus gap because the missing documents are the primary materials required for full PSP, ICP, transport, drainage, utilities, and constraints analysis (Source: web-research-L1-wallan-east-psp-vpa-project-paused.txt).