An integrated legal precinct in East Werribee with a new courthouse, police station and community legal centre is a step closer.
The state government has provided Wyndham council with $30,000 to start preparations for a masterplan for the precinct, which would replace the city’s ageing court-
house and Werribee police station and accommodate support services such as financial counsellors and drug and alcohol workers.
The Metropolitan Planning Authority last year set aside four hectares of land directly behind Werribee police station for the precinct.
Werribee MP Tim Pallas said Werribee Magistrates Court, which was built in 1980 to service a population of 40,000, was out of date.
With Wyndham’s population standing at more than 205,000, Mr Pallas said the court was experiencing “significant capacity issues”.
Mr Pallas said the $30,000 would help investigation of “options for access to justice services in Wyndham and recommend projected infrastructure needs to assist with the development of the masterplan”.
In April, 2014, Wyndham Legal Service released the Outer Sight, Out Of Justice report, which argued justice services had failed to keep up with population growth in outer urban areas such as Wyndham.
The report led to the establishment of the Wyndham Integrated Justice Precinct Advisory Group, including representatives from the Department of Justice, police, Wyndham Legal Service, Committee for Wyndham, Wyndham council and the Wyndham Community and Education Centre.
Group chairman Denis Nelthorpe said the precinct, which could cost more than $300 million, was long overdue.
“This funding indicates the government is serious about this,” he said. “With Wyndham’s growth, we need to be able to provide people with access to a complete range of justice services close to home.
“We would like to see multiple courts, a new police station, mental health, and drug and alcohol support services, so people don’t have to travel into the city.”
Mr Nelthorpe said he hoped further funding would be included in the 2016-17 state budget.
