December 2025
This post is about how successful built form controls along the Richmond Hill part of Bridge Road have been, in my opinion.
The north side has seen the most development because of the many large ex-industrial sites. I’m starting with the least successful one though, near the crest, which is huge and black and blocky, and completely overwhelms a nice single storey Art Deco factory facade. The rest are ok though!
The controls mandate a 9-13m setback above the third floor for this stretch, which mostly makes them seem back a long way, and allows retention of more than a heritage facade in some cases. It does mean though that if the old shop is single storey you get a modern floor or two up close. The total allowed heights are 21-28m, sometimes exceeded – the black one gets to 40, and the huge Richmond Plaza one was allowed 40, but it’s setback 43m. The result is a lot of mass but well setback, not dominating the heritage streetscape, and also not overshadowing the street, which is good for winter.
A few of the new street front /podiums are a bit questionable, some rather ordinary, and then there’s the zigzag blank concrete one, by @fenderkatsalidis, a bit in-your-face, but interesting. Info from a Council study on the operation of the controls, in place since …not sure but at least 10 years I guess.
Storey of Melbourne 