By CASEY NEILL
KEYSBOROUGH’S south is booming.
Its population is forecast to grow 115 per cent between 2013 and 2018, to nearly 15,000 residents.
Councillor Matthew Kirwan grew up in Keysborough, and said the area had always been a great place to raise a family.
“With Parkmore Shopping Centre and great recreational reserves like Wachter Reserve, Rowley Allan Reserve and Coomoora Reserve, the older part of Keysborough is well catered for,” he said.
Cr Kirwan said Keysborough south’s main asset was a 20 per cent open space requirement.
“But government – both state and local – need to take action to provide infrastructure for this growing area,” he said.
He said there were bus stops but no bus routes, “increasingly important not just as the population increases, but also as there is a growing amount of teenagers and senior citizens in the area.”
There is also no government primary or secondary school in Keysborough south.
“The lack of a government primary school means that parents are choosing primary schools in not only the older part of Keysborough, but also Edithvale, Dingley and even Dandenong North to send their children – not conducive to building a sense of community,” Cr Kirwan said.
He said the council was investigating plans for a community hub, including a kindergarten, long day care and occasional care, maternal and child health, a multipurpose community space and neighbourhood house.
