Creek to cost $800m

Andrew Mathieson
Governments will have to tip in more than $800 million over the next 15 years to help build new suburbs on Geelong’s southern fringe, according to official estimates.
Council planning documents and a study of estimated costs for public infrastructure have revealed schools are the biggest infrastructure bill for the Armstrong Creek growth area.
Taxpayers will have to fork out nearly $380 million for 20 schools and a further $54.5 million for a combined senior secondary and TAFE facility.
Four community complexes with facilities such as a civic hall, a library and “arts and cultural space” will cost more than $85 million, according to the study and documents.
Another $35.7 million will be needed for football, cricket, soccer, hockey, tennis, lawn bowls and athletics fields.
Other projects on the shopping list include an aquatic centre for $20.7 million, a multi-purpose stadium at $20.8 million and nine community pavilions costing about $29.4 million.
Council planning documents outlined about $720 million for public infrastructure while G21, an umbrella organisation for the region’s councils, added $80 million for train stations.
G21 also suggested a range of other big-ticket items such as overpasses, cycling networks, bus services and land purchases with prices yet to be confirmed.
The documents and G21 study did not include water infrastructure of roads.
Armstrong Creek, on Geelong’s southern fringe, is set to house about 60,000 residents within 15 years. Geelong’s council has earmarked 22,000 homes on the 2500-hectare site of former rural land.
G21 chairman Ed Coppe expected the first blocks of land to be available later this year.
Mr Coppe said plans to fund schools would not be on government agendas for three or four years when homes and residents started to fill the area.
“As the number of the houses grow then increasingly so will schools,” he said.
“The critical things to get right is power, gas and those utilities. We have to make sure they are all planned.
“The next thing is access, so roads and public transport are critically important.”