Rezoning Push Could Reshape Craigieburn's Northern Edge for a Generation

A formal rezoning application lodged with the Hume City Council this month proposes reclassifying approximately 34 hectares of land along Donnybrook Road, between the Craigieburn Town Centre and the future Merrifield City precinct, from a General Residential Zone to an Activity Centre Zone. If approved, the change would allow building heights of up to eight storeys in designated nodes and permit a mix of retail, commercial and higher-density residential uses that current zoning rules block outright.

The timing is not coincidental. The State Government's updated housing targets, which allocate Hume one of the highest infill and greenfield growth quotas in the broader metropolitan planning framework, have pushed councils to identify corridors where density can be absorbed without overwhelming existing street-level infrastructure. Donnybrook Road sits at the intersection of that pressure and opportunity: it links the Craigieburn station precinct to the expanding Merrifield employment hub, and it currently carries a mismatched patchwork of single-lot residential, vacant land and scattered commercial uses that planners have flagged as underperforming for years.

What the Maps Actually Show

The application, which was accepted for public exhibition on 30 June 2026, covers land roughly bounded by Newgrange Boulevard to the south and Wollert Road to the north. That corridor has been the subject of two previous structure plan amendments, neither of which progressed past preliminary assessment, so this third attempt carries considerably more detailed traffic and drainage modelling than its predecessors.

The proposal identifies three intensity nodes. The first sits adjacent to the Craigieburn Shopping Centre on Craigieburn Road, where the rezoning would permit ground-floor retail with residential above. The second clusters around the Emu Gate Drive intersection, targeting a mix of small-format commercial tenancies and apartment buildings. The third, and largest, sits closest to the Merrifield precinct boundary and is earmarked primarily for build-to-rent residential towers, a typology that has grown significantly in relevance since Commonwealth rental assistance reforms passed in late 2025.

Land values along the Donnybrook Road corridor have moved sharply in anticipation of planning changes. Comparable zoned land in the immediate area was transacting at roughly $1.8 million per hectare in early 2024. By the March 2026 quarter, agents active in the corridor reported asking prices of $2.6 million per hectare for sites with any planning upside priced in, a 44 percent shift in about two years. Existing homeowners in streets such as Edgars Creek Drive and Marnoo Avenue, which abut the proposal boundary, face a different calculation: their amenity may change, but their own land could gain speculative value if the rezoning passes and buyer appetite follows.

What Happens Before a Decision Is Made

The public exhibition period runs until 28 August 2026. Hume City Council's planning officers will accept written submissions through the council's online portal and at the Hume Civic Centre on Craigieburn Road. Submissions do not need to be technical documents, a clear statement of support or objection, with reasons, is sufficient for the record.

After the exhibition period closes, council officers will compile a panel report. If submissions raise substantive contested issues, the council can refer the matter to a Planning Panel Victoria hearing, which typically adds four to six months to the timeline. A final council vote would follow that process, and even then, the Minister for Planning retains the authority to call in or modify the amendment before it takes effect.

For property owners within or adjacent to the affected zone, the practical advice is straightforward: read the exhibited documents, which are available at the Craigieburn library branch on Craigieburn Road, check whether your title falls inside or immediately outside the boundary, the difference matters for future permit applications, and lodge a submission before the August deadline if you have any concerns about traffic modelling, building envelopes or infrastructure sequencing. Those details, once locked into a zone schedule, are considerably harder to revisit than they appear on a planning map.

This article is general information only and is not personal financial or investment advice. Consider your own circumstances and seek licensed professional advice before making financial decisions.