ALBANY needs to be well prepared for its population to more than double in the next 40 years.
This was the message delivered by Regional Development Minister Brendon Grylls last Friday at a GSDC-ACCI business breakfast.
Mr Grylls spoke about the Government’s “Supertown” concept and how projected growth would affect the Great Southern.
“It’s all about planning for WA’s population growth which is expected to be up by 2 million by 2050,” he said.
“If the same dispersal figures are maintained, that means 500,000 extra people in regional WA.
“If that happens, every regional town doubles in population.”
Mr Grylls said it was vital to plan for population growth in order to maximise opportunities.
“If you’re not planning now, you’re ignoring the statistics already in place,” he said.
“If we don’t plan for regional population growth, the people stay in Perth.
“We have a unique opportunity to plan for that growth.
“The growth of areas like Albany will be above that natural trend line because of the amenities and facilities you’ve already got.
“Given your beautiful natural amenity that you have here, you are poised for greater-than-average growth in the future.”
Mr Grylls cited examples of poor planning in centres such as Port Hedland and Karratha being fixed at great expense.
“We don’t want to make mistakes which we have to fix up in the future,” he said.
“If you don’t plan, you’ve got 2 million extra people in Perth, and Perth doesn’t want that either.
“Having the planning tools in place that tells me where a doubling of Albany’s population is going in terms of the topography of Albany, where the need is for the next hub of commercial and retail, where the next playgrounds need to be is absolutely vital.
“Whether that document is needed in five years time or 15 years time, it doesn’t actually change because the baseline factors of your growth, like topography, already exist.”
Mr Grylls said the Albany community needed to be prepared for change if economic drivers like Grange Resources’ proposed magnetite mine came to fruition.
Albany will play host to a Planning Institute of Australia Regional Forum at the AEC on Monday, March 28.
(Source: Albany Weekender, story by Wayne Harrington)
No comments:
Post a Comment