Southbank emerging: trading wastelands for a community heart

In the past month, we have witnessed some truly amazing “green shoots” appearing across our neighbourhood.

From fresh thinking to decisive action, the vision for Southbank is shifting toward a future defined by better facilities and a commitment to genuine community development by the City of Melbourne.

Bringing light to the “Wild West”

For decades, Southbank has been plagued by a “Wild West” approach to development – a legacy of poor state planning that favoured high-rise density over liveability.

Those who continue to argue that our suburb should be forced to suffer more concrete towers simply to meet a narrow vision of urban development have clearly learned nothing from the past. Their short-termism and lack of imagination are exactly what the community and the council are now working to overcome.

Fortunately, the City of Melbourne is taking major steps to “redress the sins of the past”. We are seeing a wave of creativity and innovation designed to fill the gaps left behind by years of neglect, poor planning, and developers driven by profit and not liveability and sustainability for those who live here.

Key projects on the horizon:

The Kingsway Undercroft: This project aims to transform a literal wasteland – an area left to fester under the Kings Way for decades – into a hub of active recreation. The council’s designs that we have seen aim to bring light, life, and greenery to a space that was once forgotten. This $5.5m project is funded and is targeted emerge into a reality for residents by the end of 2027.

The ACCA project & Normanby Reserve concept: imaginative proposals for these spaces reflect a new commitment to urban healing. The ACCA project is set to be a reality later this year breathing life into desolation.

New library facilities and a redeveloped Boyd: essential infrastructure that treats Southbank as a neighbourhood, not just a postcode will be a reality very soon.

The battle for the Barracks

As reported in last month’s Southbank News, we are actively throwing our support behind the conversion of the Defence Department’s Victoria Barracks site. Our goal is clear: we want to see this site transformed into a high school and a suite of community facilities.

This is the first real opportunity in a generation to deliver a major facility that serves the whole community of Southbank. Securing a local high school is about more than just education; it’s about enabling people to think of Southbank as a long-term home, rather than somewhere you just stay for a short period of time. We urge the entire community to get behind this demand.

More new faces, new perspectives for Southbank3006 committee

Finally, Southbank 3006 is thrilled to announce that Nisha Gull-E-Nishat the founder of Healing Noor Collective has joined our committee. We highlighted her community initiative to create culturally safe spaces for women’s wellbeing, connection, healing and recovery in our March column.

Nisha brings an exciting new perspective to the group, focused on healing the long-standing issues in our area whilst ensuring our advocacy remains as sharp and effective as ever.

Get behind the campaign to make Victoria Barracks a high school and community hub for Southbank

Southbank3006 remains proud to support the council’s initiatives because it delivers the liveability we all desire. By reclaiming our wastelands and demanding essential infrastructure like the Victoria Barracks school, we finally have a chance to overcome the lack of imagination that has blighted our neighbourhood for too long.

Let’s keep building a Southbank that lives, breathes, and grows together. Join us at southbank3006.com to become part of the action. •