Education projects, including new schools, head a list of projects Melton council wants the state government to fund in the next five years.
The wishlist forms part of the Interface Councils’ Fairer Funding report, released last week, which warns that Melbourne’s outer suburbs desperately need more state money.
The group, made up of the 10 municipalities forming a ring around metropolitan Melbourne, is concerned they will become “ghettos” if the state government does not invest more money in them.
The councils say they have hosted close to half of Melbourne’s growth in the past five years but received only 7 per cent of capital works funding in this year’s state budget.
The report includes an electorate by electorate wishlist, including Melton, Keilor and Kororoit.
Melton council chief executive Kelvin Tori said there was a strong feeling in both council and the community over schools and education.
“There are pressures and deficiencies in both primary and senior secondary schools in the eastern growth corridor,” he said.
“There’s also a need for an upgrade to the existing Melton Specialist School and expansion into the east. There are a number of other emerging issues . . . recent budget cuts to Victoria University and uncertainty around the Melton campus, growing pains at Exford Primary School, and the need for a primary school at Eynesbury.
“The biggest project council would like funded is 45 million for the Ferris Road grade separation.”
Other key projects the council would like funded include :
- $57 MILLION to plan and deliver key transport initiatives, including Western Highway interchanges and intersections, township intersections, roundabouts, duplication and Ferris Road grade separation
- $2 MILLION to complete the Melton- Melbourne railway duplication and electrification
- $3 MILLION for Christies Road, Ravenhall, traffic signals
- $400,000 to plan Melton highway duplication and Western Highway interchanges
- $500,000 for the Caroline Springs Recreation Reserve Tennis Centre after federal government funding for the project was cut earlier this year.
