Campbell Arcade's vintage street signage Credit:Darrian Traynor New Draft Development Plans for the Melbourne Metro's five underground stations reveal that sections of the heritage listed arcade are under threat, with one part of the arcade's eastern wall in line for demolition. This would take out at least two stores, including A Touch of Paris - a hairdressing salon that has been operating in the arcade for 50 years. Thomas Blachford, who co-manages Sticky Institute, a volunteer-run store that has been selling and publishing zines for 16 years, said the future of the shop is now "in limbo". The plans released by the Melbourne Metro Rail Authority also reveal that new ticketing barriers may block off access to shops on the arcade's western side.

Campbell Arcade runs between Flinders St and Flinders Lane. Credit:Darrian Traynor A spokesman for the Authority said: "Cross Yarra Partnership will work with Heritage Victoria to obtain the relevant heritage permits ahead of starting works that affect Campbell Arcade." Using the arcade as a pedestrian underpass would "lessen the disruption and impact to Flinders Street traffic and trams", the spokesman said. But Tristan Davies, president of lobby group Melbourne Heritage Action, said the new station plans threaten to "destroy the arcade" which he described as an "intact example of 1940s architecture". "It's similar to what happened with the Port Phillip Arcade ... that process was not exactly consultative."

The National Trust Board of Victoria has slammed the Authority's decision to give stakeholders just three weeks to respond to the station's new extensive plans. "It's quite intentional," said the branch's chair, Kristin Stegley, who criticised plans to demolish heritage listed buildings for the sake of a new underground railway. "Surely we can build a tunnel that won't trash our heritage." The new plans offer a vision of how the new stations will fit with the city. They reveal that 95 trees along St Kilda Road will now face the chop, down from 170 previously announced. It follows community outrage over the loss of the iconic elm trees.

The total number of trees set for removal along the tunnel route is now 770, down from more than 900. By the time Melbourne Metro Tunnel is up and running in 2026, A'Beckett Street will have cars removed between Swanston and Stewart Streets, the plans show, and fitted out with seating areas, a basketball half court and a "social enterprise bicycle mechanic". And Parkville Station's new pedestrian underpass, beneath Royal Parade, was flagged as a possible interchange for commuters using the next underground metro tunnel in the pipeline: Melbourne Metro 2. The release of the plans coincides with calls for the station designs to match the architectural splendour seen in Dubai, Paris and Singapore. Dr Phillip Roös has written design guidelines for the new stations, which reinforce principles of "biophilic design" - a technique that incorporates natural elements into buildings to improve health and wellbeing.

Where there is no capacity to include natural plants or light underground, Dr Roös calls for virtual reality "and similar illusory systems" such as an artificial sky and projected images of nature. Transport infrastructure expert Chris Hale said despite major construction on the project starting next year, the plans still lacked crucial details. It was still unclear why interchanges were not planned for South Yarra and North Melbourne (Arden), to save commuters travelling into the CBD to change lines, Dr Hale said. Building the capacity to interchange with the Craigieburn and possibly the Upfield lines at the new station in Arden – a desolate industrial area set for significant urban renewal - would have maximised prospects for development, and benefited commuters from the west and north, he said.