THE state government is being urged to ramp up infrastructure funding in Melton before two new suburbs pile pressure on to public transport, roads, schools and healthcare.
Planning Minister Matthew Guy last month approved two precinct structure plans for Rockbank North and Diggers Rest, paving the way for more than 30,000 new residents.
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Melton Council’s planning manager, Luke Shannon, said substantial government investment would be needed to make sure local roads and services weren’t outstripped by rapid growth.
A new suburb in Rockbank North is projected to have 6650 houses for 19,000 new residents over 20 years, and Diggers Rest will have 3800 new houses for 11,000 residents in the next 25 years. Included in the plans are new commercial, retail and community facilities.
Mr Shannon said council welcomed approval of the structure plans, which would create new opportunities in the shire.
“If you look at a retail component, for someone to come in and invest in a significant shopping centre, they need to be confident residents are there for them to be able to thrive.”
But Mr Shannon urged the government to ensure critical infrastructure kept pace with demand. “We’ll be continuing to ask the state government for things like the Melton Highway upgrade, improving public transport, upgrading the Ballarat train line, upgrading the train station at Rockbank, rolling out a public bus network linking to other forms of transport and into the city, as well as primary and secondary schools, health services and a new hospital.”
According to the state’s Growth Areas Authority, the new communities will boost local employment, while the $5.3billion Regional Rail Link through the western suburbs will free up V/Line and metropolitan tracks to ensure commuting times don’t blow out.
Chief executive Peter Seamer said the structure plans also identified opportunities for a new train station at Toolern and an upgrade to Rockbank station. “Providing a mix of industrial and professional employment options in the Melton growth area will also ease the squeeze on our resources, time and traffic by reducing reliance on road and rail transport into Melbourne’s CBD and inner areas.”
Melton Labor MP Don Nardella said the government needed to earmark money for major projects before approving new suburbs, “not 10 or 20 years later”. “The Melton Highway upgrade is needed now because when you get Rockbank North developed it’s going to mean more problems on that road.”
Diggers Rest resident Leone Downey said she had decided to leave the suburb and move to Tasmania, partly due to uncertainty over the plans. “We’ll be gone by August. One motivation is that we don’t get any answers,” she said. “We’ve got no knowledge of the boundaries and what’s going to happen.”
An extra 590 hectares around Melton have also been included in the urban growth boundary and could be slated for housing, Mr Seamer said.
