CONCERNS are mounting over how Wyndham can cope with the addition of more than 3800 houses at a proposed $1billion estate on the western edge of Werribee.
Developer Delfin Lend Lease last week revealed plans to build a master planned
community for up to 12,000 people on a 438-hectare site bordered by McGrath, Black Forest and Bulban roads, after striking a deal with the landowners.
The deal is likely to be lucrative for the owners, members of Little River's Richmond family.
There are plans for four schools, community, sport and recreation facilities, open space with lakes and waterways, and a shopping centre. Situated near the route earmarked for the Regional Rail Link, there would be 290 medium-density units, with 95 hectares set aside for open space. The project would be developed over 10 years, with first sales expected by mid next year.
Lend Lease chief executive Steve McCann said the developer would deliver a "sustainable community leading the market with new innovations in urban design, housing design and community development".
But the announcement has further heightened fears about the capacity of Australia's fastest-growing municipality to cope, given its already strained road network and inadequate public transport. In the past decade, Wyndham's population has almost doubled from 87,141 in 2001 to an estimated 158,000 by June this year. It is expected to rise to more than 400,000 by 2040.
At last month's council meeting, Truganina ward's Kim McAliney called for a stop to Wyndham's growth unless the city received a significant increase in funding from both state and federal governments. But mayor John Menegazzo stressed that state government approval was required before the proposal could go ahead.
In its submission to a federal government inquiry into sustainable population growth, the council stated significant underinvestment by state and federal governments had pushed the city to breaking point.
It found the city's strained arterial roads and public transport network and arterial roads were impacting on the city's efficiency and residents' quality of life, with local job creation "barely keeping pace" with population growth.
The submission called for greater assistance and a more collaborative approach from state and federal governments to help manage Wyndham's growth.
Cr Menegazzo said the city's unprecedented expansion would continue for the next 20-30 years.
"We can't just put the shutters up and close the gates," he said.
"As a council, we have to make sure we plan and provide for it [our growth], which means we'll continue to advocate to the state and federal governments for funding.
"This development won't happen overnight, and by the time all the residents have moved in, the Regional Rail Link - which has a provision for a station near Black Forest Road - will be built."
Cr Menegazzo acknowledged road congestion had to be eased.
"We'll be strongly pushing for projects including Armstrong Road and the Duncans Road interchange and a commitment to WestLink."
LeadWest chief executive Anton Mayer said the east-west WestLink tunnel was crucial to Wyndham's future as an alternative to the already strained West Gate Bridge.
"The bridge serves as a critical link connecting people, employment, business and freight, but unfortunately, Victoria is too reliant on it," he said.
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