Quick facts about growth and Council’s response
Bayside’s population is growing and also changing:
- Over the last five years to 2021, our population grew by 6,464 residents
- Our population is expected to increase by a further 11,493 residents by 2031 and 25,337 by 2050
- Household sizes are decreasing, with more lone person households than ever before
- Our community is getting older with higher levels of disability
- An estimated 7,500 new homes will be needed by 2036 for our growing community that meet their changing needs and preferences.
Bayside has some of the strongest planning regulations in all of Metropolitan Melbourne:
- 83% of Bayside is zoned for minimal growth, with a mandatory two-storey height limit – one of the highest proportions of any Victorian municipality
- Mandatory height limits are in place across almost all of Bayside (as opposed to discretionary limits which are more easily challenged), so the scale of future development is clear.
A mix of development is happening throughout Bayside:
- Almost half of development in Bayside is incremental growth, such as side-by-side townhouses
- Medium and high-density development is designated to activity/shopping centres and priority sites (limited to approximately 15% of Bayside).
Council is building on its existing framework to manage growth:
- Each activity centre has a vision and tailored planning provisions
- A Housing Strategy and an Affordable Housing Strategy are in place
- An Open Space Strategy is in place
- Heritage studies are currently being updated and extended
- Neighbourhood Character Guidelines are being reviewed.
Residential Strategic Framework Plan
This map shows where housing growth will be focused into the future. The Bayside Planning Scheme and Council’s strategies and plans all work together to support this Framework.
General Residential Zones in the following locations:
- Church Street Activity Centre
- Bay Street Activity Centre
- Martin Street Activity Centre
- Hampton Street Activity Centre
- Sandringham Village Activity Centre
- Pennydale Housing Growth Area
- Elsternwick Housing Growth Area
- Cheltenham Housing Growth Area
Tell us what you want to know
Want to know more? Take a look at the answers we have provided to the many questions submitted so far.
Do you have further questions? Send them in - we will update the questions and answers regularly.