By XAVIER SMERDON
WYNDHAM could still accommodate another 280,000 residents without any changes to the Urban Growth Boundary, a new council report has found.
A submission by Wyndham Council to the State Government about the importance of developer contributions stated that massive amounts of money were needed to support the current rate of population growth in the municipality.
“Estimates of costs of local infrastructure are in the order of $1.75 billion in growth areas released since 2005 onwards,” the submission said.
“On top of this, an estimated additional cost of $300-$400 million is needed for major local facilities including aquatics, indoor sports centres, grandstands at major venues, and performing and visual arts centres.
“Council currently faces infrastructure funding gaps of hundreds of millions of dollars”.
Developer contributions are currently under review by the State Government and the council used the opportunity of a submission on the issue to talk about the dire situation in Wyndham.
“Backyards have already all but disappeared, creating greater pressure on public open space provision, and coming at a time when public health issues such as obesity and diabetes are reaching unacceptable levels,” the submission said.
“It is not the responsibility of councils and the communities they will ultimately represent to pay the price of poor investment decisions by developers, particularly too high a price paid for undeveloped land, if that occurred.”
Mayor Heather Marcus, who is also the spokesperson for Victoria at the National Growth Areas Alliance (NGAA), said she was concerned that Wyndham’s needs were being ignored by the State and Federal Governments.
“I get very frustrated and I get very annoyed. We just can’t keep growing like this,” Ms Marcus said.
“I’m really serious about this and I’m concerned by the fact that the freeway is backed up past the Werribee turnoff and it is taking some residents more than an hour just to get on the freeway.
“What I’ve always said is that we need the infrastructure before we have a whole lot of more people move in.”
Ms Marcus said Wyndham Council and the NGAA were calling on residents to share their experiences with living in a growth area with the State and Federal Governments.
To share your frustrations visit www.ngaa.org.au.
