By Corey Everitt
Council has threatened that the Officer South development is at ‘significant risk’ of being stalled in a pointed argument to the State Government to reassess their plan and to spend big on the precinct’s future infrastructure.
This comes as council claims it will be left in an ‘impossible position’ to pay for a projected $63 million worth of roads and facilities.
In the latest meeting of Cardinia Shire Council on Monday 11 December, councillors considered a report by the council being submitted to the State Government on the Officer South Employment Precinct, which laid down changes in the planning and measures to address them.
The State Government and Victorian Planning Authority (VPA) will receive the report on the precinct which will become one of the largest industrial areas in the State, the biggest issue they will have to address is the council’s concerns over who is going to pay for the infrastructure.
Within the report the council flagged an issue regarding the Infrastructure Contributions Plan (ICP), which is a special levy on developers of the precinct which gathers funds for the council to use on constructing the necessary infrastructure for developments.
With the existing set up of ICP along with the projected cost of infrastructure, the council claims they face a shortfall of $63 million in delivering the roads and facilities for Officer South.
The council says their projections were made from factors including caps on levies to Community and Recreational facilities and costs divided between neighboring precincts, while they disputed the VPA’s own accuracy on projected costs.
Examples of other ICP shortfalls were raised, the largest being the Donnybrook-Woodstock
ICP in Melbourne’s North, which is projected to leave a leftover cost of $40.5 million. This ICP is split between two councils, Mitcham Shire Council and City of Whittlesea.
The burden of this projected $63 million cost was sternly rejected by the council saying there is a possibility that the development could stall at its initial stage.
“Council is being put in an impossible position, namely that it will be required to administer and manage an ICP, that will not raise nearly enough contribution funds to deliver the community and transport infrastructure items required as part of Stage 1,” the report said.
“There is a significant risk that Stage 1 of the Site-Specific Control (Staging Plan) will not progress, which impacts the development and progress of other stages.”
The council in response suggested the State Government should review its cost assessment for the project and find ways to better manage the infrastructure funding.
Most of all, the council suggested the State Government should ‘nominate itself’ for delivering all community and transport infrastructure.
The council also argues for a reassessment of the staged approach by VPA, which intends to deliver significant parts of the planned residential areas first.
In this scenario, transport and community infrastructure, such as a Community Centre and several road bridges, may have to be delivered in the early stages.
Council outlines that several of these are not covered or underfunded in the ICP meaning that significant financial burden will come early into the precinct’s development threatening to stall its progress.
Mayor Jack Kowarzik said he is looking forward to the beginning of the massive precinct, he just hopes all levels of Government can work together to bring it to fruition.
“We’re genuinely excited about what the Officer South Employment Precinct can deliver for our community, especially in terms of local employment,“ Mayor Kowarzik said,
“It’s vital the planning and financial management for local infrastructure is collaborative, or else we’ll be playing catch-up into the future.
“This is a significant employment precinct we’re talking about, and it’s imperative that it is set up for success from the outset.
“If we get it right, then the families moving in – and the 70 per cent of residents who are travelling outside of Cardinia Shire for jobs – will have more employment options and a more liveable community.
“That’s why we’re calling on all levels of government to work together, to ensure the aspirations of this project are realised and that the infrastructure our growing community needs is delivered”.
The Officer South PSP’s final plans are set to be finished in late 2024.
The precinct covers an area of approximately 1,069 hectares, bound by Cardinia Creek to the west, the Princes Freeway to the north, Lower Gum Scrub Creek to the east and the Urban Growth Boundary to the south.
The development is expected to cover the next 20 to 30 years and result in the creation of over 22,000 jobs.
