General News
23 December, 2024
Good signs for Westbrook’s growth
A report presented to a Toowoomba Regional Council meeting provides insight into how new water infrastructure might impact growth in Westbrook and other areas.
At December's ordinary meeting of council, the “Grants for Growth” report was presented to councillors by Nikola Stepanov, General Manager Planning and Development Group and Jaek Passier, General Manager Water and Waste Services Group.
It was prepared in anticipation of $1 billion in funding to come from the state LNP government for regional infrastructure, following an election promise the party made in August, ahead of the election.
“It is anticipated that if funding is provided for these projects, it would enable Council to accelerate the delivery of a significant number of lots of land developable for housing in the Toowoomba Region,” the report said.
There are positive signs for developers and supporters of the Fernleigh project, which has plans to build 1,500 residential lots, commercial and community spaces to the north of Shoesmith Road at Westbrook.
The report indicates a raw water reservoir connected to the Southern Water Treatment Plant (SWTP), which was announced two weeks ago, could be built within Fernleigh.
The SWTP itself would be built to the east of Mount Peel, in Drayton, and another reservoir would be built at Mount Peel.
It would cost an estimated $90 million, with the project spanning from 2025/26 to 2030/31.
The new plant would supply most of the southern half of Toowoomba and outer west suburbs as well as Westbrook, Wyreema, Vale View, Hodgson Vale, Top Camp, Preston and Mount Rascal.
Residential growth indicated in the report suggests the new SWTP could ultimately provide water for more than 50,000 new residents to the area, over several decades.
Asides from Highfields, Westbrook looks to have the most residential growth forecast over the next few decades, expanding greatly to the north and west.
Residential growth is also earmarked in Mount Rascal, pockets of Wyreema and the northern part of Finnie which borders Drayton.
The new Mount Peel Reservoir and trunk main is estimated to cost $15 million from 2025/26 to 2027/28 .
New sewerage infrastructure in the South Toowoomba area is estimated to cost $14.9 million and will ultimately service an added population of over 10,000.
