Advocacy group Lead West has challenged the private sector to match the $17 million-plus in federal and state government investment made in Brimbank over recent years.
Lead West chief executive Craig Rowley said the time was right to invest, with Sunshine having been named as a national employment cluster in Plan Melbourne, the state government’s blueprint for growth towards 2050.
“There has been millions of government money spent in Brimbank, and we’d really like to now see private sector investment take Sunshine’s job growth even higher,” Mr Rowley said. “It’s been a year since the announcement that Sunshine has national employment cluster status in Plan Melbourne.
“We want to see it continue to be supported as a place gaining well-paid services sector jobs.”
The council’s city development director Stuart Menzies expected the “significant” government investment would be matched by the private sector in the long term.
The $17 million-plus has been poured into projects including the Brimbank Civic and Community Centre, a Keilor basketball and netball stadium redevelopment, and Regional Rail works.
A $200 million women’s and children’s wing is also planned for Sunshine Hospital.
“Approval of planning permits for other significant developments in Sunshine, including the Sunshine private hospital, indicate the market is responding to the development potential,” Mr Menzies said.
“It’s expected that, over the long term, private investment will also be significant.”
The council has met a number of major property owners as it works with the Metropolitan Planning Authority to develop Sunshine as a national employment cluster.
“Residential land values in Sunshine are still relatively inexpensive,” Mr Menzies said.
A submission to Plan Melbourne found that Sunshine had “great growth potential but little or no infrastructure and limited existing institutions to provide the core for growth”.
“Land contamination and cheaper land elsewhere could continue the low growth of recent years,” the submission warned.
