Thursday, 4 December 2025

 Bronwyn HALFPENNY (Thomastown) (17:42): (1470) Speaker, best wishes for Christmas and the new year to you.

I wish to raise a matter for the Minister for Planning, and the action I seek is an update on the recent planning reforms to ensure infrastructure in new housing developments is built when it is needed and not years too late and how this will affect residents in the Thomastown electorate. Residents of Thomastown electorate in the outer suburbs of Epping North and Wollert are frustrated about the length of time it takes to build infrastructure after homes have been built. It could be roads, lights at intersections or shopping centres that have all been promised by council and developers but have not been delivered. A good example in the area is the time it has taken to complete Edgars Road ‍– and the dire lack of sport and recreational facilities in Wollert.

Before land is released for subdivision, the state provides a master plan for the area called a precinct structure plan. In the case of a large lot of land in an established area, there is a greenfield plan. It sets out the zoning of land to ensure land is available for all activities necessary, whether it is roads, education or industrial and residential zones. But in the past there has been very little interest in ensuring the necessary infrastructure was also built when it was needed. This has been a frustration for those living in the new estates because they have no facilities and also for residents in established areas because new residents are forced to use existing facilities, putting those facilities under pressure as the demand increases. Residents are very interested in the approval of the Beveridge North West PSP and how this will guide development further north as well as how it will affect the Epping activity centre.