SuperTowns receive $5.5million planning boost, Grylls
Author: Brendon Grylls
Published on: 30-September-2011
In Katanning today for the community’s official SuperTowns launch, Regional Development and Lands Minister Brendon Grylls announced that $5.5million in Royalties for Regions funding had been allocated to support the nine selected towns with the planning phase of the program.
Mr Grylls said the $85.5million SuperTowns initiative represented an excellent opportunity to stimulate sustainable economic and community growth in towns in the southern half of Western Australia.
“The SuperTowns vision is to create well-connected communities with access to services, affordable housing, and a diverse range of lifestyle and employment opportunities. This will offer more choices for people living in regional WA and provide an alternative to living in metropolitan areas,” he said.
The Minister said each of the SuperTowns were about to embark on an intensive planning process to map their vision for growth to 2050, and that collaboration across all layers of government and the community would play a vital role.
“With the State’s population predicted to double over the next 30-40 years, these towns need to be prepared to capitalise on this growth and plan for a prosperous future,” he said.
“Each town will be expected to provide a comprehensive growth plan, identifying the economic drivers, services, amenities and infrastructure needed to reach and support the town’s growth potential.”
Mr Grylls said he had been impressed by the strong community leadership that had been demonstrated in each of the towns.
“Many towns have established their project teams and community reference groups, and they are also involving their surrounding communities, which is such an important element of the SuperTowns program,” he said.
