A new police station at Point Cook is a step closer after the state government allocated funds to search for and acquire land in yesterday’s state budget.
Altona MP Jill Hennessy welcomed the funding, describing it as “a significant first step in building a police station in Point Cook”.
According to the budget, $41.4 million has been set aside to acquire the Point Cook land, as well as the relocation of the East Melbourne Police Station.
The budget did not state how much of the $41.4 million would be dedicated to each project.
In other budget highlights:
• $20 million has been set aside to acquire land for the redevelopment of the Werribee and Bendigo justice precincts;
• $10.8 million for extra regional rail services, including 20 additional shoulder-peak services to and from Wyndham Vale;
• $1 million for planning of a “potential” expansion of Werribee Open Range Zoo;
and • $1 million to fund the next stage of the Greening the Pipeline project, which will convert Truganina’s Main Outfall Sewer Reserve into parkland.
The budget papers said funding would be provided to upgrade the Princes Highway and Wattle Avenue intersection, but did not detail what these works would consist of or how much they would cost.
It also stated service improvements would be delivered to the metropolitan bus network on selected routes, including Werribee, and that funding would be provided for a tech school in Wyndham.
The budget includes $2.1 million each for the CFA Wyndham Vale fire station and Truganina fire station projects.
As announced by the state government last month, the budget features $96.8 million to build Davis Creek Primary School, Point Cook South Senior Secondary School and Wyndham South (Riverwalk) Primary School, all earmarked to open for term one in 2020.
A further $7.8 million was committed for the second stages of Sanctuary Lakes P-9 College and Truganina East P-9 colleges, including new performing arts and physical education buildings for each school.
Existing educational projects – including stage five works at Manor Lakes College – were allocated $9.82 million, stage two works at Tarneit Senior Secondary College $4.14 million and works at Werribee Secondary College, $2.59 million.
