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

Whitehorse Council has taken a major step in the fight to protect the historic Box Hill Brickworks site from high-rise development.

⁉️What happened: On Monday night, councillors voted to begin negotiations with the site’s owner, Phileo Australia Limited, to purchase the land before plans for 10-storey housing towers progress further.

• The motion confirmed council’s stance that the seven-hectare site at 14 Federation Street should be reserved as public open space.

🤔Thinking ahead: Whitehorse councillor Kirsten Langford said preserving green space would be vital as surrounding suburbs like Surrey Hills and Mont Albert undergo significant housing growth.

• 🗣️“Imagine what it’s going to be like in 15 years’ time,” she told the chamber. “In Whitehorse, we’ll be well on the way to more than doubling our population, adding another 76,500 homes. We’re not against densification, but with it comes pressure on open space.”

⌛A historic site: The Federation Street site was originally a clay quarry from 1884.

• In 1913, it opened as the Box Hill Brickworks, operating until 1988. 

• The site is now on the Victorian Heritage Register and covered by an Environmental Audit Overlay due to its past use as a landfill.

🏘️More housing: The Suburban Rail Loop Authority (SRLA) released a draft Box Hill Structure Plan and Planning Scheme Amendment earlier this year for public consultation.

• The plans outlined the Box Hill Brickworks land as one of the “strategic sites” around the new underground SRL East station, with the site proposed to be used as a “new mixed-use residential neighbourhood”.

🪧Community push: Box Hill Brickworks Parkland Association co-convenor Vincent Mennilli told council the campaign to save the site as parkland has gained strong public support, with an online petition exceeding 6,900 signatures.

• 🗣️“We firmly believe this type of open space, in the heart of Box Hill, is key to its livability,” said Mennilli. “The community must not be ignored—we need to act now.”

• Mennilli later told the Eastern Melburnian council’s decision was a “huge step forward” in showing the Suburban Rail Loop Authority (SRLA) the community’s wishes.

✍️Development plans: Potential private developers of the site have scrapped previously submitted plans for five to six-storey towers after a report showed they would deliver a 21.8 percent financial loss.

• The developers have now proposed an amendment to the Whitehorse Planning Scheme seeking for apartment blocks to be 10 storeys or higher, with only five percent of the site required to act as a public open space.

⏭️Next steps: A SRLA spokesperson said it has been working with council and the community on plans to deliver “high-quality homes and new public open space” at the site, but no final decision has been made.

• Independent public hearings are now underway, with the Save Box Hill Brickworks Parkland Association and Whitehorse Council both presenting their cases next week.

• The committee will then give advice to the Planning Minister ahead of a final decision in early 2026.