Booming Footscray our newest priority precinct

Published: 12 December 2019

Footscray’s status as a key cultural, commercial and educational hub has been recognised with the Victorian Government today confirming that the fast-evolving suburb would become Melbourne’s sixth priority precinct.

The suburb joins Fishermans Bend, Parkville, Arden, the Richmond to Docklands corridor, and Sunshine as a designated established precinct with the potential to deliver significant returns for the community in terms of jobs growth, sustainable development and enhanced liveability.

Footscray forms the cultural heart of the west and is also a major health and education centre.

It is the gateway between Melbourne’s Central Business District (CBD) and the wider western suburbs and provides key access beyond the city limits to regional Victoria. Major infrastructure projects under way including Melbourne Metro and the West Gate Tunnel will make Footscray more accessible than ever to greater Melbourne.

Victoria University spearheads a burgeoning educational sector while the Victorian Government committed $1.5 billion in the Victorian Budget 2019/20 for a new hospital in Footscray, which will further drive the growth of the suburb as a knowledge centre for the west.

Footscray’s population is growing fast, moving from 11,400 in 2006 to more than 16,300 at the 2016 census.

The Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions will lead co-ordinated planning and development for Footscray to provide more jobs, boost investment and strengthen social connection.

Declaring Footscray as a priority precinct will ensure that the government’s local investments are co-ordinated and delivered in partnership with the community, local government and other stakeholders.

The government allocated $25 million in the Victorian Budget 2019/20 to help develop the potential of Melbourne’s priority precincts. This investment will add value in established urban areas through investment and better use of infrastructure, and build on Melbourne’s distinctive liveability and sustainability.

Find out more about Footscray as a priority precinct.