It is expected that by 2050, it will be home to approximately 80,000 residents and provide employment for up to 80,000 people.
The transformation of Fishermans Bend is guided by the Fishermans Bend Framework; a plan for parks, schools, roads, transport and community facilities and services to ensure liveability as the precinct grows over the next 30 years.
In 2022-23, we will invest around $550,000 on renewal works including roadways and flood mitigation and around $150,000 on maintenance works on municipality facilities.
Precinct planning
The City of Melbourne is continuing to work with the Victorian Government's Fishermans Bend Taskforce, the City of Port Phillip and other government agencies to progress the development of detailed Precinct Implementation Plans.
In 2019 community feedback was sought to guide the development of the Precinct Implementation Plans, which will focus on movement and access, ecology and open space, activity and land uses, and built form and heritage. Precinct Implementation Plans will be complemented by a robust infrastructure and funding strategy, as well as appropriate governance arrangements for precinct delivery.
The five precincts in Fishermans Bend are:
City of Melbourne:
- Lorimer
- National Employment and Innovation Cluster (NEIC)
City of Port Phillip:
- Montague
- Wirraway
- Sandridge.
The Montague and NEIC Precinct Implementation Plans are scheduled for release in 2022-23.
Guiding the vision and strategic direction for the NEIC is the Victorian Government’s Advancing Manufacturing – the Fishermans Bend Opportunity document. By 2050 it is envisaged that the NEIC will be internationally renowned as a centre for innovation in advancing manufacturing, engineering and design.
By supporting a culture that fosters experimentation and learning from doing, the NEIC will push design boundaries through a continual process of prototyping, testing and refining ideas. It will be a place that celebrates risk taking and accepts failure as essential ingredients to innovation.
For more information and to view an interactive map of Fishermans Bend, visit the Victorian Government’s online engagement platform or read more about the project on the Fishermans Bend website.
Fishermans Bend Innovation Precinct
Located in the heart of the National Employment and Innovation Cluster (NEIC) is the Fishermans Bend Innovation Precinct, which includes the Victorian Government owned former General Motors Holden (GMH) site and University of Melbourne future engineering and architecture campus.
In May 2021, the Victorian Government announced a $179.4 million funding package to kick-start the delivery of Fishermans Bend Innovation Precinct, over the next three years. This early investment will be a catalyst to drive the confidence of key industry education and research organisations to grow the advanced manufacturing vision in the broader NEIC.
The Innovation Precinct will sit within the broader Fishermans Bend area.
Gateway to GMH
The City of Melbourne is working in partnership with the Victorian Government on the planning, design and delivery of the 'Gateway to GMH' project.
Focusing on the 230-hectare NEIC, home to the former GMH (General Motors Holden) site, the project will deliver a range of works on Turner Street and is the first step in transforming this space into a key multi-modal movement corridor from the former GMH site through to the central city and other innovation precincts.
Gateway to GMH has four areas of focus:
- Accessibility – a bike and pedestrian path connecting Lorimer Street to Salmon Street along Turner Street to improve access and safety for pedestrians and cyclists
- Creative Placemaking – creative and engaging experiences including the creation of a temporary placemaking hub to host events and activities
- Greening – planting to enable a more mature tree canopy cover
- Digital – digital infrastructure to support future innovation within the renewal precinct, such as sensors, smart poles and technology that integrates with art
This project is a trial project for the future NEIC, and will act as a catalyst for the longer term transformation of the precinct into a centre for innovation in advanced manufacturing, engineering and design.
These works have been funded through the $2.7b building works package announced by the Victorian Government in May 2020 and will be delivered by City of Melbourne in partnership with the Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions (DJPR). For more information, visit Gateway to GMH – Participate Melbourne.
Fishermans Bend Digital Innovation Challenge returns
The first Fishermans Bend Innovation Challenge 2022 pilot, Remix Raingardens: Repurposing local waste for good, has been successfully trialled at Fishermans Bend.
This year’s Challenge presents a unique opportunity to explore how the creative use of emerging technology and data could help drive towards a more resource efficient, circular, resilient and healthy city.
We’re inviting all eligible entrepreneurs, universities, researchers, start-ups, scale-ups and established organisations to be part of history and pitch their ideas and contribute to this thriving new precinct.