New statistics confirm Wyndham has the second-fastest growing municipal population in Victoria, with more than 13,814 residents arriving in a 12-month period.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics last week released data showing Wyndham’s population increased 6.1 per cent, from 228,088 to 241,902, in the 2016-17 financial year.
During the same period, the municipality of Casey, in Melbourne’s south-east, topped the state for population growth with 13,859 new residents bringing its total population to 327,380.
In terms of individual suburbs, Cranbourne East topped the growth list with 7338 new residents coming into the area. Melbourne placed second with 4631 new residents.
Tarneit came in third with 3270 new residents, increasing its population nine per cent overall, from 36,532 people to 39,802 people. Truganina was fourth with 2975 new residents, a population increase of 11.9 per cent, taking its total population from 24,977 to 27,952.
Across metropolitan Melbourne, overseas migration was a major contributor to population growth, bringing in 80,000 additional residents in the 2016-17 financial year. In Wyndham, 4741 overseas migrants moved into the area.
Only the municipalities of Melbourne and Monash (with 9316 migrants and 6734 migrants respectively) welcomed more migrants than Wyndham.
Wyndham mayor Peter Maynard said: “Wyndham is currently experiencing both the second fastest and second largest growth in population of any municipality in Victoria. This presents an incredible number of challenges, particularly when it comes to delivering adequate infrastructure for our booming communities.
“Some of the key projects we’ve highlighted include the need for more stations on the regional rail link and additional train capacity on the Werribee line.
“We have called on the State Government to deliver the Black Forest Rd Station in Wyndham Vale, the Davis Rd Station in Tarneit West and the Truganina Station within five years.”
