The Port of Melbourne has asked the City of Melbourne to include a suggested freight bridge over the Yarra River in its upcoming planning strategy for the city.
The proposed freight bridge would run over the Yarra River between the Swanson and Webb Docks in the port.
The port provided the submission asking for the bridge to be included in the new Municipal Planning Strategy (MPS) ahead of a Future Melbourne Committee meeting on April 15.
The council has currently deferred any further action on the strategy until November 2026, with the port taking the opportunity to ask for the bridge to be included in the plan.
As one of the 37 submissions shared at the meeting, the Port of Melbourne called out the current plan’s lack of the freight bridge that would run over Victoria Harbour.
The Port of Melbourne’s submission referred to its 2050 Port Development and rail plan strategies as justification for the question.
“The submitter notes that the proposed Webb Dock Freight Link has not been identified within any of the proposed mapping,” the Port of Melbourne’s submission in the council report says.
“The identified alignment … must be included ensuring its due consideration in determining any planning permit applications along the alignment.”
In its response to the initial bridge request last year, the City of Melbourne says the freight link suggestion without a planning strategy would be “premature”.
“There is currently no formal proposal for the alignment of the Webb Dock Freight Link (WDFL). It is therefore considered premature to represent the WDFL alignment in the MPS,” the council said at the time.
In its submission, the port also queried the council on its plan to create new open spaces along areas of the Moonee Ponds Creek on its western side.
It says some areas marked as impacted are already leased and operated and have been incorrectly labelled.
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