Port of Melbourne presses council on freight bridge

The Port of Melbourne has called on the City of Melbourne to include its proposed freight bridge over the Yarra River between Swanson and Webb Docks in its new Municipal Planning Strategy (MPS).

Ambitious housing targets and a swathe of new planning rules recently announced by the state government has seen the council defer further action in progressing the strategy until November 2026.

Councillors considered submissions to the MPS at its April 15 Future Melbourne Committee meeting, which were received from a range of stakeholders, including residents’ groups, developers, government agencies and major property owners.

Prior to the meeting, council management had requested that the Minister for Planning appoint an independent planning panel and refer all submissions to the panel for consideration. However, this may not occur until the end of next year, putting the delivery of the MPS on hold while it is redrafted.

Despite the deferral, the Port of Melbourne’s submission was one of 37 shared on April 15, with the port authority calling out the plan’s omission of its controversial proposal for a freight bridge that threatens to suffocate Victoria Harbour.

While it acknowledged the plan’s “safeguarding freight routes” surrounding the port, including Lorimer St as the only major link between Webb Dock and the Dynon Precinct, via Wurundjeri Way, the authority argued the freight link “must be included”.

“The submitter notes that the proposed Webb Dock Freight Link has not been identified within any of the proposed mapping,” a summary of the Port of Melbourne’s submission published in the council’s report stated.

“The identified alignment … must be included ensuring its due consideration in determining any planning permit applications along the alignment.”

The Port of Melbourne cited its 2050 Port Development and “Our Plan for Rail” strategies, along with the state government’s plans for Fishermans Bend as planning justification for its request. 

But in its response to the Port of Melbourne, the City of Melbourne said any move to include the freight link in its planning strategy was “premature”.

“There is currently no formal proposal for the alignment of the Webb Dock Freight Link (WDFL). It is therefore considered premature to represent the WDFL alignment in the MPS,” the council stated.

The Port of Melbourne also challenged the council’s plans for new open space along certain areas on the western side of Moonee Ponds Creek, arguing that several areas affected was land the authority leased and operated.

It added that these areas had been “incorrectly labelled” and required careful consideration given their strategic importance to its operations. It called on the council to appropriately label them reflecting that they formed part of the Port of Melbourne.

The council responded by saying land within the Port of Melbourne lease area was shown in the plan’s maps, and that open space shown adjacent reflected the council-endorsed Moonee Ponds Creek Strategic Opportunities Plan 2020.

“It is acknowledged that any proposed new open space located on land not owned or managed by the City of Melbourne, would require facilitation with relevant agencies to ensure it aligns with their strategic intent,” the council stated. •