More than 500 local residents have recently signed a petition to lobby the state government to build a new primary school in the Keyborough area, to address the massive growth in population over the past few years.
According to the 2011 census data around 70 per cent(1) of local households are families with children living at home.
In addition 19 per cent(1) of local residents living in Keysborough are aged 14 years or under, putting extra pressure on existing schools in the south east, reinforcing the need for more schools in the area.
Since the census, there has been significant development in the Keysborough area including the large Somerfield estate and other smaller developments which, when completed, will represent approximately an additional 2400 new households.
With safety being the number one concern for locals, resident and community advocate Nina Kelly says people want a local state based primary school that is within walking distance, so children do not have to cross two major roads, each with six lanes of traffic to attend school every day.
“It’s disappointing to say there have been a number of public primary and secondary school closures in the area within recent years given the significant population growth. This includes Maralinga Primary and Coomoora Secondary College,” she said.
“With both my children being under 4 years of age, and most of my neighbours having to drive their children to school, I wanted to improve walking access to public schools in the local community, so I was therefore compelled to start this petition,” she said.
With increased development in the area, a primary school is now required for the southern section of Keysborough to cater for exponential population growth.
Forecast for land supply was initially planned for 15 years, however developers like Intrapac have delivered ahead of schedule and are set to have the whole area populated by the end of 2016, meaning they are ahead of schedule by seven years.
The petition to push for a new school has the support of the local council and Intrapac Projects – the developers of the Somerfield estate.
POPULATION FAST FACTS ABOUT SOMERFIELD AND KEYSBOROUGH SOUTH
There will be approximately 1,800 – 2,000 families with children and dependents living in the Somerfield estate upon completion(2)
There will be approximately 8,019 residents living at Somerfield once it is fully developed with an estimated 1,523 persons under 14 years of age(3)
Collectively, there will be around 2,430 new homes built in the Keysborough South area(3)
A school site is identified for the southern section of Keysborough, south of the newly constructed Dandenong Bypass. It is in the Overall Development Plan(4).
State Government funding has not yet been forthcoming for the acquisition of the land or for its construction.
FOOTNOTES:
Australian Bureau of Statistics 2011
Intrapac internal data, March monthly report 2015
Intrapac internal report April 2015
Development plan Keysborough South Development Plan Stages 2 and 3, Greater Dandenong City Council http://www.greaterdandenong.com/section/27175/approveddevelopment-plans
To find out more contact: Zoyee Kartalis on 0409 301 975 or email: zkartalis@intrapac.com.au
DISCLAIMER: NOTE: Where possible every effort has been made to provide accurate data to validate statements in this fact sheet however we are reliant on third-party sources and in some cases only have access to partial data. Estimates have been used to provide projected numbers of future population.