Box Hill Brickworks site cleared for high-rise buildings taller than 10 storeys, ignoring council and resident opposition

“Once this land is developed, we will never get another opportunity like this.”

Matthew Sims
July 22, 2026

Victoria’s Planning Minister has approved plans for 95 percent of the seven-hectare Box Hill Brickworks to be used for housing of 10 storeys or higher or other developments.

The decision has drawn criticism from residents, Whitehorse Council and local MPs, who argue the land should be used as passive open space.

🗓️ The history: The Box Hill site operated as a brickworks from 1884 and, between 1988 and 1999, the former quarry was filled with construction and demolition waste, excavated soil, rock, green waste and inert industrial and household waste.

In 2001, a clay cap was installed to contain contamination.

According to an Environment Protection Authority (EPA) spokesperson, other efforts to manage the landfill included a gas management system and a long-term maintenance and response plan.

A 2006 EPA audit found residential or other sensitive uses were not appropriate on the land before the introduction of a management plan. However, another audit in 2019 determined that all of the site was suitable for medium to high-density residential land uses.

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.

📍 How’d we get here? The land was identified in 2025 as a future mixed-use neighbourhood under the Suburban Rail Loop East plans.

Planning Minister Sonya Kilkenny approved the final structure plan in June, as well as planning scheme amendments for the precinct.

🏗️ What’s coming? Under the approved plans, buildings of up to 10 storeys can be built around the site's edge, with taller buildings possible in the centre. Only five percent of the land must remain open space.

🔵 Opposition opinion: North-Eastern Metropolitan MP Richard Welch described the decision as “bad urban planning and a betrayal of future generations”.

😡 Council critical: Whitehorse mayor Kirsten Langford said the outcome was “incredibly disappointing”.

🗣️ “Once this land is developed, we will never get another opportunity like this,” she said.

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.

🪧 Local reaction: Box Hill Brickworks Parkland Association co-convenor Vincent Mennilli said the community remained concerned about the site's stability and the cost of making it suitable for development.

🗣️ “The environmental risks are great – with mass excavation of the site and the drilling of multiple piles to reach solid ground at the base of the 40-metre-deep former quarry,” he said.

Co-convenor Greg Buchanan said the group was “undaunted” by the decision and would continue campaigning for the site to become passive open space.

⏭️ What’s next? The association is holding a rally at Surrey Park Drive on Sunday August 23 from 1:30pm.

Developers can now prepare a master plan under the amended planning scheme, with the Planning Minister, rather than Whitehorse Council, acting as the decision-maker.