Riversdale & Willison Activity Centre
The Riversdale and Willison Activity Centre controls were gazetted and came into effect on 22 July 2026.
Riversdale and Willison is an ‘unusual’ Activity Centre. Unlike other activity centres it does not have a core and is in reality a residential area surrounding a train station and tram line.
Riversdale and Willison include an inner catchment and an outer catchment. The inner catchment allows development of up to 4 storeys on most sites and up to 6 storeys on larger lots, while the outer catchment allows development of up to 3 storeys on most lots and up to 4 storeys on larger lots. Larger lots are generally defined as sites of at least 1,000 square metres with a minimum 20-metre frontage.
The official government map below shows the final Riversdale and Willison Activity Centre catchment boundary, together with the building heights that now apply within each area.
A substantial area of the catchment covers heritage overlays shown in pink hatching on the map below. The heritage overlays will remain in place but the catchment will be rezoned as HCTZ (Housing Choice and Transport Zone) which prioritises housing density and housing diversity. See Heritage at risk.
Map of Inner and Outer Catchments
Source: Department of Transport and Planning (DTP), Riversdale to Willison and Ashburton Plan (June 2026). (Visit DTP webpage).
The Riversdale and Willison Train and Tram Zone Activity Centre Factsheet is available here.
Community consultation – What was actually open for consultation?
Despite the Government’s statements about consultation, no changes were made between the draft and final Riversdale and Willison Activity Centre plans. The more consequential planning controls that will shape future development in the catchment were not part of that consultation.
The building Codes were never open for consultation
While residents were invited to provide feedback on the draft plans, the key planning decisions had already been made. There was no public consultation on the new planning zone or the residential building Codes that now apply within the catchments, despite these determining the future scale and form of development throughout surrounding residential neighbourhoods.
See Government plans → Townhouse and Low-Rise Code and Mid-Rise Code for more information about the residential building Codes that now apply within the Riversdale and Willison Activity Centre catchment.
The State Government has repeatedly claimed that community consultation helped shape activity centres. This stands in stark contrast to the experience of those who participated in the consultation.
According to the final plan:
“We heard from the Riversdale and Willison community through two rounds of consultation, and your feedback is helping shape our plans. In response to community feedback, the size and scale of Riversdale to Willison, and its designation as a ‘neighbourhood centre’ in Plan for Victoria, we are proposing only inner and outer catchment for this area.“
According to the Planning Minister, Sonya Kilkenny:
“…the government did extensive community consultation on its draft activity centre maps, which led to changes based on that feedback. “We have gone out to community, we’ve consulted with them, we’ve engaged with them,” she said. “They were changed based on feedback from residents.” ”
So what actually changed after two rounds of community consultation?
Looking for more detail? Explore the Government Plans, Concerns, Heritage at risk, Resources → Planning explained and Concerns → Community consultation and engagement sections for further information about how the planning changes work and the issues they raise.