How is Frankston City centre changing?
On 11 April 2025, the Victorian Government approved Planning Scheme Amendment C160fran, which implements the Frankston Metropolitan Activity Centre (FMAC) Structure Plan – September 2024 into the Frankston Planning Scheme, representing a landmark moment in the revitalisation of our city centre.
It means that our planning controls can now support the ongoing growth and transformation of our CBD and surrounding area, while protecting the things we love about our city. Decisions about land use, the location of businesses and housing, how people move around, and our city’s look and feel can now be made with the confidence and certainty that our City has needed for more than a decade.
What does this mean for Frankston?
- More diverse and affordable housing options
- Better transport connections
- New and vibrant public spaces
Click here to learn more about Amendment C160fran
Frankston Metropolitan Activity Centre Structure Plan
Review the FMAC Structure Plan below or download a copy from the document library on this page.
Community Engagement
See how community engagement was used to develop and refine the Frankston Metropolitan Activity Centre Structure Plan.
Planning Scheme Amendment C160fran
Find out more about the Planning Scheme Amendment process and how Council is progressing through each stage.
Your Questions Answered
A structure plan is a long-term plan for an Activity Centre to guide Council decisions about future development on both private and public property.
The structure plan will be designed to implement key policies and objectives for Frankston Metropolitan Activity Centre in State and Local Planning Policy. It also guides the assessment of planning permit applications and amendments to the Frankston Planning Scheme.
The Frankston Metropolitan Activity Centre (FMAC) is a higher-order centre intended to provide a diverse range of jobs, activities and housing for regional catchments that are well served by public transport. The FMAC will play a major service delivery role, including government, health, justice and education services, as well as retail and commercial opportunities.
Melbourne’s population is expected to grow from current population levels of 4.6 million to almost 10 million by 2051. To ensure this growth is sustainable, the majority of this population is to be housed in Melbourne’s established suburbs, in ‘activity centres’ with good access to jobs, services and public transport.
For Frankston, this means the municipality’s population will grow by an estimated 17,600 from 2021 to 2041. This translates to approximately 3000 new residents and an additional 2,800 jobs in the FMAC during that time.
As development is expected to occur in this precinct, implementing a Structure Plan will enable Council to introduce planning controls that better reflect the local context of the area and to identify what infrastructure is required to support the population. Without a Structure Plan residents will have limited ability to influence or challenge how development occurs in the future.
The Structure Plan is your opportunity to influence what type of development is allowed in the area and also what changes and improvements are needed to ensure Frankston continues to be a great place to live, work and play.
These are higher-order centres intended to provide a diverse range of jobs, activities and housing for regional catchments that are well served by public transport. These centres are expected to play a major service delivery role, including government, health, justice and education services, as well as retail and commercial opportunities. Frankston is designated as a Metropolitan Activity Centre along with Box Hill, Broadmeadows, Dandenong, Epping, Footscray, Fountain Gate-Narre Warren, Ringwood and Sunshine.
The Frankston Planning Scheme sets out how land is protected and how it can be used and developed in the Frankston municipality. Each local government area in Victoria has a planning scheme to guide different types of uses and development of land. Each planning scheme will consist of maps to show different zones and overlays and also contains written requirements to describe the zones and overlays, with policies to guide Council’s decision making.
Changes to the planning scheme are called amendments and the process is set out in the Planning and Environment Act 1987.
Planning schemes require changes from time to time to achieve certain planning outcomes, support new policies, and to ensure that requirements continue to meet the needs of the local community
Amendment documents and more information can be found on Councils
website at:
More information about the planning scheme amendment process can be found on the Department of Transport and Planning website at: https://www.planning.vic.gov.au/planning-schemes/amendments/amending-a-planning-scheme
You can also contact Council’s Strategic Planning Team on 1300 322 322 to discuss over the phone or arrange a meeting to answer any questions that you may have.
