Melbourne North Councils Urge $45M for Future Hospital and Rail Land

A group of councils in Melbourne's north is calling on the state government to spend $45 million to buy land to begin planning for a hospital and railway station to meet the future needs of the booming population.

The Northern Councils Alliance said the region was set to grow by 500,000 people in coming years, becoming home to about 1.5 million people.

Population data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed the three local government areas in Melbourne's outer north experienced well above-average population increases in 2024/25, including Mitchell at 4.2 per cent, Hume at 3 per cent and Whittlesea at 2.9 per cent.

Overall, Greater Melbourne experienced a growth rate of 2.0 per cent.

The emergency department at the Northern Hospital in Epping claims to be the busiest in the state, caring for more than 300 people every day.

Northern Councils Alliance chair, Lawrie Cox, is also the mayor of the City of Whittlesea.

He said buying the land for a new hospital to the north of Epping now would put the government at an advantage when it came to planning.

"We're asking to put health services on the program now, as part of the development of the residential areas you can see in the background," he said.

"It's a major area, it doesn't have enough services available to it from health."

The group has proposed the government could spend $25 million to buy land in the Cloverton estate, where new houses were being built every day.

It said an extra $20 million could buy land for a future railway station adjacent to the future hospital site.

"We need the planning now," Cr Cox said.

"It's not saying we've got to deliver a hospital now.

Transport to hospital crucial

The Northern Councils Alliance plan includes buying land for a new train station at Cloverton, extending the Upfield line north to the growth area at Wallan and a new railway station at Beveridge.

Infrastructure Victoria's 30-year strategy for Victoria also includes extending the Upfield train line through Kalkallo, north through Beveridge and Wallan.

Mitchell Shire mayor John Dougall said a new train station at Beveridge was part of the council's advocacy strategy, ahead of the November state election.

"Provision of public transport is essential to support a growing population," he said.

"A new train station will allow improved access to the hospital but also for the growing suburb to be able to commute in to Melbourne and take advantage of those opportunities."

Mr Dougall said planning for health and transport now would give residents and businesses the confidence that the infrastructure was coming.

Suburbs already under strain

Infrastructure across Melbourne's northern suburbs is already under pressure from a growing population.

In 2023, the ABC reported a woman went into labour in peak-hour traffic in Kalkallo and it took her an hour and a half to get to hospital, where her baby was delivered safely.

The federal and state governments have pledged a combined $45 million to duplicate part of the major road in Kalkallo, Donnybrook Road, to ease congestion.

But locals say road upgrades can't come fast enough.

Councillor pushing for better health services

In the past two years, the state government has opened community hospitals at Craigieburn and Mernda.

But they do not have emergency departments and, while locals say they are meeting some needs, there are still gaps.

Naim Curt lives in Gladstone Park, in Melbourne's north-west, and is a councillor with the City of Hume.

Even though his suburb is more established, he said he was often forced to travel to central Melbourne for treatment of his type one diabetes.

Cr Curt said the new community hospital at Craigieburn had only recently got the capacity to help manage his insulin pump.

"Really, with all the growth over many years, it has taken a long time to get to this point," he said.

"It can take an hour to get in there, a couple of hours once you've found a park and to wait there, it can end up taking half a day, five, six hours."

He said using a pump had made it much easier to control his insulin, but not being able to get the pump serviced locally was a challenge.

"Having to travel further for it has meant sometimes I've had to miss appointments in the past, sometimes it's clashed with my day,"

"Being a diabetic sometimes you have to go to 12 or 24 different appointments a year and so it's much easier when you can go to one area where you can access a dietician, a pump clinic, a diabetes educator, an endocrinologist all in one spot, rather than having to travel to four or five different areas and then having to take four or five days off to get that done."

The opposition's Wendy Lovell said the government needed to better plan for growth in Melbourne's outer north.

"What we've seen is that there's been thousands of homes built in the Donnybrook/Kalkallo area without the infrastructure being put in to support the residents in that area,"

"It may not be about building a hospital right now, but is a hospital going to be needed in 10 years' time, 15 years' time, 20 years' time?

In a statement, the government said it was investing $813 million dollars in the expansion of the Northern Hospital and supporting health services.

It said it was continuing the business case for the Northern Rail Program and spending almost $100 million on new bus services.

"Melbourne's north is one of the fastest-growing parts of our state and we're continuing to invest in the roads, public transport and health services families rely on," a spokesperson said.

"That's why we're expanding Northern Hospital, opening community hospitals in Craigieburn and Mernda, improving local bus services and upgrading key roads like Donnybrook Road."

Residential developer Stockland said it was working closely with the state government and the Hume, Whittlesea and Mitchell councils on a new city centre.

"This long-term vision will help meet the needs of a rapidly growing community, including planning for future infrastructure and services as the area develops," a spokesperson for the company said.

"Stockland welcomes discussions with the State Government on the provision of land for a future hospital."