SUNSHINE could become the key growth centre in Melbourne’s west, with a soon-to-be-released metropolitan planning strategy to encourage government and private-sector investment in the former industrial heartland.
The blueprint is expected to crown Sunshine the strategically most important development area in the west and help deliver thousands of research and knowledge jobs.
Brimbank council chairman John Watson said people were “incredibly excited” at Sunshine being identified as a key growth centre.
“It is a bit like the name – the sun is going to shine again on Sunshine,” he said.
“There is a lot of positive attitude here.
“The people here actually love this place and they can see that things are improving.’’
He said the land available for an expanded medical precinct “is not equal to but greater than Monash as a medical precinct, and the west needs it”.
Resident Viv Kay said any investment in training and jobs was welcome, but warned growth without sufficient employment opportunities would exacerbate the area’s high unemployment.
“The existing human resources should be accommodated before welcoming more people,” she said.
RMIT planning expert Michael Buxton said Sunshine was an excellent choice as a growth hub and that too much growth in the west had been on the city’s fringe.
“We need an alternative model for redeveloping the west and it has got to involve identifying vacant land, excellent transport connections and then putting a lot of government money into redeveloping them,” Professor Buxton said.
He said Sunshine had suffered from Melbourne’s industrial decline and was well positioned for change.
