The Victorian Government has finalised new planning controls for the Blackburn, Nunawading and Mitcham Train and Tram Zone Activity Centres, with Amendment GC285 coming into effect on 22 July 2026.

The amendment introduces new planning controls that will guide future development and housing growth within the three activity centres and surrounding neighbourhoods.

What has changed? 

The new planning controls include: 

• Built Form Overlay: New built form controls, including building heights, setbacks and street wall requirements, now apply to the core areas of the Blackburn, Nunawading and Mitcham Activity Centres. These controls replace any previous Design and Development Overlays within the activity centre cores and mainly cover existing Commercial and Mixed Use Zoned land.
• Housing Choice and Transport Zone: A new residential zone has been introduced across the surrounding catchment areas to support greater housing diversity and growth in locations with good access to public transport, employment and services. The zone includes an inner catchment (with buildings up to 4 and up to 6 storeys on larger sites) and an outer catchment (with buildings up to 3 and up to 4 storeys on larger sites).

The amendment also rezones a number of properties within the Nunawading and Mitcham Activity Centres. 

Community engagement

The Government has also released the Phase 2 Consultation Summary Report for the Blackburn to Mitcham cluster. The report outlines feedback received during community consultation on the activity centres during Phase 2 in February and March 2026. 

Engagement across the Whitehorse community included: 

• 691 survey responses (442 for Blackburn, 76 for Nunawading and 173 for Mitcham)
• 91 participants attended the Department of Transport and Planning drop-in sessions and 39 attended the online Q&A session. 
• 76 walk-by interactions across two community engagement events
• 29 Community Reference Group members representing the Blackburn to Mitcham activity centres.

The report outlines how community feedback informed changes to the final Activity Centres Plans. You can read the report here: 

Find out what the changes mean for your property

Residents, landowners and builders can use the Victorian Government's interactive map to search their property and view the planning controls that now apply: Train and Tram Zone Activity Centres Program

The updated planning zones and overlays are also available through Whitehorse Maps: Whitehorse Maps

More information

For more information about the Victorian Government's Train and Tram Zone Activity Centres Program, including the final planning controls for the Blackburn to Mitcham Activity Centres and activity centre-specific updates, visit the Victorian Government's planning website: Blackburn to Mitcham

You can also read: 

• Blackburn
• Nunawading
• Mitcham

 

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