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Shaping the future of Seddon

Overview

Over the next 30 years, an additional 425 homes will be needed in Seddon to house a forecast 60% population increase - from 5,232 in 2021 to 7,133 in 2051 - placing additional pressure on existing infrastructure and services.

To plan for this, Council has developed a draft Neighbourhood Plan, informed by two rounds of community engagement, to guide the future of the suburb. The Plan comprises three main themes:

  • Land Use and Built Form
  • Access and Movement
  • Public Realm.

It seeks to establish:

  • direction for the preferred type of built form and development
  • land use and management options, including activity centre boundaries, and potential future zoning and overlays
  • strategies to promote economic performance and employment opportunities, specifically, within the activity centre
  • responses to current public realm and connectivity challenges and opportunities (considering Seddon's proximity to Yarraville, Footscray, and the Melbourne City Centre).

Draft concept designs for potential future development opportunities in key public spaces such as the Austin Street Civic Space, Seddon Station precinct, Williamstown Road North, and the Pilgrim Street underpass, are also included.

We'd like to understand your thoughts on the Neighbourhood Plan including the proposed vision, the public realm projects you would like us to prioritise, and the proposed introduction of a reduced 30 km/h speed limit to create a safer environment for pedestrians and those who cycle.

A draft Concept Plan for Harris Reserve in Seddon, which is part of the draft Seddon Neighbourhood Plan, is also available for comment. Learn more at yourcityyourvoice.com.au/seddon/harris-reserve

How community feedback has informed the draft Plan

💬Phase 2 Engagement

In July and August 2023, we checked back in with the Seddon community on eight key themes informed by the earlier conversation, that would underpin the draft Seddon Neighbourhood Plan.

We asked the community to share its level of support for the themes, if we'd missed anything, and to prioritise key actions proposed for each.

These themes were presented in an Issues and Opportunities Paper - a copy of which can be found in the document library.

Approximately 85 people attended three public drop-in sessions and 94 responses were received online indicating a high level of support for the identified themes, key issues, and opportunities.

Additionally, respondents noted:

  • the need to protect the “village vibe” and intimacy of the suburb
  • avoiding overdevelopment
  • prioritising increased access to open space and/or pocket parks
  • improvements to the pedestrian footpath for accessibility
  • the need for better lighting at night to improve passive surveillance on Victoria and Charles streets and around Seddon station.

You can read the Engagement Summary Report in the Document Library.

💬Phase 1 Engagement

In August 2022, as part of the 'Visioning Seddon' conversation, we received more than 1,000 pieces of feedback in the form of comments, votes, or likes on the online portal Your City Your Voice and 200 hard copy postcards.

Respondents told us they envisioned a future Seddon that:

  • remains 'clean and green'
  • includes more shared and readily accessible spaces, such as community gardens, parklets, public toilets, and more outdoor dining
  • features quality footpaths, cycle networks, and lower speed limits
  • retains its unique culture, heritage, and culture.

Background

A brick wall with a mural painted on it. The mural depicts a white weatherboard house, trees, and a tram with 'Charles Street' written on the front.

Seddon is a small dense suburb with working-class roots.

Its housing stock is predominantly single-storey Victorian 'workers cottages' and Edwardian terrace houses, with some later double-story early 20th-century buildings in the Village.

Once upon a time, a tram line ran through the middle of the village, but this has since been replaced with central garden beds and tree plantings in the middle of the streets.

With a total land area measuring just one square kilometre, it is easy to get around.

Today, Seddon has its own train station on the Werribee and Williamstown line, and is home to a tight-knit community and a range of high-quality restaurants, bars, cafes, and retail stores.

There are also number of small gardens, parks, playgrounds and reserves - including Harris, Bristow and Mappin reserves.

In 2010 and 2011, as part of the implementation of the Seddon Urban Design Framework, Council allocated funding to upgrade Charles Street between Victoria and Gamon streets, to help foster and strengthen the local community identity.

Originally known as Belgravia, its name was changed to Seddon in honour of New Zealand Prime Minister Richard 'King Dick' Seddon, who had lived within its borders.

Seddon was also home to Margaret (Lilardia) Tucker – or 'Auntie Marge’ – who is considered one of Australia’s earliest and most notable Aboriginal activists.

Black and white photograph of Richard Seddon.

Born in Lancashire, Richard John Seddon first travelled to Victoria at the age of 16 fuelled by “a restlessness to get away to see new broad lands”.

He worked at the railway workshops in Williamstown and unsuccessfully worked the goldfields in Bendigo before travelling across the Tasman to try his luck in the goldfields there.

Seddon, who dominated New Zealand politics for 13 years, is considered one of the greatest and most revered politicians. He was Prime Minister from 1893 to his death in 1906, while returning from a trip to Australia, just 12 days before his 61st birthday. This was also the year Seddon, Victoria, took his name.

You can read more about Richard Seddon here.

Margaret, who lived at 38 Pentland Parade, Seddon, is considered one of Australia’s earliest and most notable Aboriginal activists.

She represented the Victorian Aboriginal community during the “day of mourning” at Australia’s 150th-anniversary celebrations in Sydney in 1938, along with then Pastor Doug Nicholls and William Cooper.

Auntie Marge fought for her people all her life based on a philosophy of reuniting black and white in the community. She is quoted as saying “You can’t play a tune on the piano with just the white keys and you can’t play a tune on a piano with just the black keys. To get a tune in harmony you must use both the black and white keys and that’s when black and white come together.”

The new park in the Joseph Road Precinct has been named Lilardia Park in her honour.

You can read more about Aunty Marge here.