Revised Suburban Rail Loop Plan Sparks Concerns for Box Hill Residents and Businesses

A revised plan for the Suburban Rail Loop's new Box Hill station has sparked mixed reactions from local residents and business owners. The updated proposal aims to conserve more of the popular Box Hill Gardens, but at the cost of displacing additional residents and businesses.

Original plans for the new Box Hill station were set to reduce the size of the Box Hill Gardens by 25 per cent. However, revised plans have reduced the impact to about 10 per cent, with 10 more properties and a laneway to be compulsorily acquired instead.

Whitehorse City councillors voted unanimously on Monday night to support conservation of the park and oppose further construction encroachment elsewhere in Box Hill. Mayor Kirsten Langford expressed concerns over the lack of community consultation on the proposed changes.

"We've lost 50 businesses as a result of the compulsory acquisition date. Now, we're going to lose more," Cr Langford said.

"We welcome that change in Box Hill Gardens. However, the SRL is saying they wish to reduce the open space that they're going to offset in Box Hill Gardens."

"We're seeing 10 businesses being compulsorily acquired. [These are] businesses that are now being compulsorily acquired with very little warning."

Local business owner Yinwei Yu has already had to relocate his business once due to SRL construction and will now have to move again.

"It's been very difficult because I've lost a lot of customers," he said.

"I'm very disappointed, but this is the reality of [running a business] and I have to live with it."

Kevin Earl, a member of the Whitehorse Ratepayers Association, has lived in the area for seven decades and believes the construction work has negatively impacted the local retail precinct.

"Having to live in the area and work out your future, it's very difficult," he said.

"There's so much acquisition — even the local medical centre — it got acquired the day it went to auction."

"[The SRL construction] is killing Box Hill. There's just no trade and a lot of traders have shifted."

A Suburban Rail Loop Authority spokesperson said the revised approach would "significantly reduce the impact of works on Box Hill Gardens".

"Taking lessons from other major projects such as Metro Tunnel, this approach means more efficient construction — saving money — and less impact on surrounding businesses and the community," the spokesperson said.

"We understand property acquisition can be difficult for affected landowners, tenants, and businesses and we will continue to support them to find suitable new locations where required."

The spokesperson said the authority expected the formal acquisition process for the additional properties to start in late 2026, with properties to be vacated from 2027 to 2030.