Box Hill residents call five percent Brickworks open space recommendation a betrayal

Whitehorse council is still pursuing negotiations with current owner Phileo Australia to buy the land.

Author

Matthew Sims
July 08, 2026

A planning panel has recommended just five percent of the seven-hectare Box Hill Brickworks site be set aside as public open space, a decision Whitehorse council and community groups are urging the Planning Minister to reject.

❓ What happened? Released in March 2025, plans for the Suburban Rail Loop East identified the Box Hill Brickworks site as a future mixed-use residential neighbourhood.

  • On July 1, a planning panel released its recommendations for the area, including advice that future developments at the Box Hill Brickworks site only be required to set aside five percent of the land as open space.

📍 What’s coming: The site’s owner, Phileo Australia, first proposed a fixed height limit for apartment buildings of 21 metres or five to six storeys, but later sought approval for housing up to 10 storeys around the edge of the site, with the potential for taller buildings toward the centre.

Whitehorse Council bids to buy iconic Box Hill Brickworks to keep as open space

An online petition advocating for the site to be retained as open space has more than 6,900 signatures.

🪧 Council campaign: In a statement, Whitehorse council said open space in Box Hill could fall from 19 square metres per resident to 7.15 square metres without more passive green space.

  • The council argued the entire site should become open space, with 25 percent its second preference.

Mayor Kirsten Langford said setting aside just 0.35 hectares was "not good enough".

  • "Densification plus open space equals liveability," she told the Eastern Melburnian.

  • Langford said the council remained willing to negotiate with current owner Phileo Australia to buy the land.

Rents jump by 58 percent in Box Hill as city struggles to meet affordable housing targets

An outlook has estimated there will be more than 2,000 residents requiring low-income accommodation support by 2041.

📣 Community response: Box Hill Brickworks Parkland Association president Vincent Mennilli said the community deserved a “more common-sense approach”.

  • 🗣️"It really feels like we're being betrayed and totally ignored," he told the Eastern Melburnian.

⏭️ What's next? The Planning Minister has approved the final structure plans and planning scheme amendments for all six SRL East stations. The release of the approved plans is expected later this month.

  • Once approved, developers can then prepare a master plan within the amended planning scheme.

Thumbnail Image Credit: Bob T