Wyndham council has ignored calls to bring forward funding for the Chirnside Park redevelopment in its 2015-16 budget.
Despite requests from former councillors, local businesses and even former prime minister Julia Gillard, the council has maintained that it will not stump up any of the promised $5.5 million towards the project until state government funding is guaranteed.
The redevelopment, backed also by funding from Werribee Football Club, the AFL and AFL Victoria, would provide Chirnside Park with change rooms for umpires and women, a canteen and a lift to the first-floor social room.
Werribee Football Club chief executive Mark Penaluna said he was unsurprised by the outcome.
“We’ve had some good meetings with council in recent times,” he said. “We’re still positive that the redevelopment will go ahead and we just have to make sure we’re going to construct something we can all be proud of.”
The council formally adopted the budget last week, having made no amendments to the draft version released in April, despite nine submissions calling for funding or works.
Other submissions received on the draft budget included a request from Sanctuary Lakes Resort Services for funding for a playground at its Oyster Bay Chase Park, and a request for cash to resurface a hockey pitch at Presidents Park.
Ratepayers can expect a 5.5 per cent increase on their rates bill this financial year – the highest increase of all the councils in the west.
Cr Gautam Gupta said that, overall, residents were happy with the budget.
“There were only nine submissions,” he said.
“That’s not to say people are not interested. It says the budget is quite balanced; it shows that people have accepted what we have proposed.”
Intaj Khan, the only councillor to vote against the budget, said he was concerned to see the capital works budget drop from $101 million in the 2014-15 financial year to $91 million for 2015-16.
