By Belinda Nolan
TAYLORS Hill West will become the first Victorian suburb hooked in to the Federal Government’s National Broadband Network.
Plans for the new suburb were officially unveiled last week by State Planning Minister Justin Madden and is set to be the first Victorian community specially designed to accommodate the NBN.
The 217 hectare estate will make room for 6500 residents and 2300 new homes and is expected to be completed within the next five years.
Under the site’s blueprint, pits and pipes will be installed at the edge of each home to make way for the optical fibres which will connect them to the new high speed network.
The new community will also feature two schools, a maternal community centre, five local parks and five kilometres of walking and cycling tracks.
The developers are forking out $33 million towards new roads, recreation and community facilities, while Melton Council will contribute a further $7 million.
Mr Madden said the development would be fast-tracked for completion within five years, due to a high demand for homes in the burgeoning suburb and nearby Caroline Springs.
The $43 billion NBN is Australia’s largest infrastructure project. When complete, it will provide high speed internet of 100 megabits per second to homes, schools and businesses.