Glossary

Industrial land consumption is the process of land changing from vacant to occupied. This typically occurs when vacant land starts to be used for some type of use including: buildings, storage areas, car parks, quarries, etc.

Occupied industrial land can also become vacant which typically involves the demolition of buildings or removal of storage facilities. Returning occupied land to land supply creates negative consumption.

Net consumption, which is the measure reported in the UDP, is the amount of land that changes from developed (vacant land to occupied), less the amount of newly vacant land (land that has changed from occupied to vacant). This recycling of land accounts for net negative consumption that occurs in some inner and middle suburbs.

Consumption rates are based on a long-term consumption trend (2004 to 2021) and a recent consumption trend (2014 to 2021) for each Significant Industrial Precinct (SSIP). The long-term consumption rates are generally lower than the recent consumption trends. This provides a range of potential times when vacant land becomes exhausted.

The method adopted in this report creates a linear exhaustion rate, however in practice, land supply in the SSIPs would become constrained prior to all vacant land being consumed. This is because:

• the amount of new development would start to decline as land prices increase in response to increased scarcity. Users might be priced out of areas and search for other locations.
• not all zoned land is suitable for development as either built space or non-built space (such as a storage yard) due to the configuration of the land such as area, shape or cost of providing infrastructure.

This modelling provides a useful estimate of the how the SSIPs will accommodate growth and the pressures they may encounter in the future.

The Melbourne Industrial and Commercial Land Use Plan (MICLUP) identified a number of Regionally Significant Industrial Precincts. The purpose is to provide opportunities for industry and business to grow and innovate in appropriate locations for a range of industrial and other employment uses that can contribute significantly to regional and local economies.

They will be retained and planned to allow a range of industrial and other employment uses, and where appropriate, new and emerging types of businesses that require access to affordable and well-located land to grow and innovate.

They may serve broader city functions or support activities which benefit from scale with some precincts offering opportunity to transition to a broader range of employment opportunities offering a higher amenity to workers and economic vibrancy.

The planning scheme zones identified as industrial for the Urban Development Program are: