Templestowe Faces a Denser Future as Council Rewrites Its Planning Rules

Manningham City Council is moving to amend its residential planning controls in ways that would allow higher-density development across parts of Templestowe and Templestowe Lower, with draft policy changes circulated to residents this month ahead of a formal submission period closing on 1 August 2026. The amendments touch everything from permissible building heights along key corridors to minimum lot sizes for subdivision, changes that, if adopted, would fundamentally alter the character of streets that have been predominantly single-dwelling since the 1970s.

The timing matters. The Victorian Government's housing targets, handed down late last year, require Manningham to absorb a significant share of new dwellings over the next decade. Council planners have been working under that pressure to identify areas where increased density can be directed without gutting established neighbourhood character wholesale. Templestowe, with its large blocks, proximity to the Eastern Freeway, and strong median sale prices, has landed squarely in that conversation.

What the Proposed Changes Actually Mean on the Ground

The draft amendments focus particularly on residential land within walking distance of the Templestowe Village shopping precinct on Foote Street, and along sections of The Boulevard and Serpells Road, corridors that council planners have flagged as appropriate for transition from Neighbourhood Residential Zone to General Residential Zone. That reclassification would lift the default maximum building height from 9 metres to 11 metres, and remove the hard cap on the number of dwellings per lot that currently applies to most land in the area.

Templestowe Lower's Macedon Square precinct, which anchors the suburb's western edge, is also referenced in the draft documents as a potential activity centre where residential development above ground-floor retail could be encouraged under the proposed activity centre zone overlay. Planners have pointed to underdeveloped lots on Foote Street and within 400 metres of Macedon Square as priority sites where medium-density townhouse and apartment development could be directed first.

Design standards are being revised alongside the zoning changes. The draft includes updated guidelines requiring all new multi-dwelling developments to provide a minimum 25 percent permeable surface on each lot, increased setbacks from established canopy trees, and facade articulation requirements intended to prevent the kind of featureless rendered-brick wall that has drawn criticism from Templestowe Residents Association and others in recent years. Balcony depth minimums of 1.8 metres are proposed for apartments above the second storey.

Prices, Pressure and the Subdivision Question

Templestowe's property market has pushed the median house price well above $1.7 million over the past 18 months, according to figures that have circulated in local real estate commentary. That price ceiling has made modest subdivision economics increasingly difficult for owner-occupiers wanting to unlock value from large 800-900 square metre lots, a reality that the draft amendments directly address by reducing the minimum lot size for dual-occupancy development from 500 square metres to 400 square metres in the proposed General Residential Zone areas.

The change would technically open up a larger pool of Templestowe lots to dual-occupancy applications, though any proposal would still require a planning permit and would be assessed against the new design standards. Developers and owner-builders are already watching the process closely. Several permit applications for townhouse developments on Templestowe Road and in the Fitzsimons Lane corridor have been lodged since January 2026, some of which are on hold pending resolution of the zoning question.

Manningham City Council is accepting written submissions on the draft amendments through the Your Say Manningham online portal until 1 August 2026. A public information session is scheduled at the Manningham Civic Centre on Thompsons Road, Doncaster, on the evening of 22 July. Residents on lots within 60 metres of a proposed zone boundary change should have received a direct notice, though anyone with land in the Templestowe Village or Templestowe Lower activity centre catchments is encouraged to review the draft maps and check their specific address against the proposed overlays before the submission deadline.

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.