Looking towards the long term sustainability of Griffith, Council has developed a growth strategy that has mapped out land use, infrastructure and the financial direction of the City in a single plan.Griffith City Council’s Growth Strategy 2030 (GS2030) was initiated in April 1999.
“This project commenced at a time when Griffith City was faced with rapid growth in a vacuum of few long term plans,” said Council’s Manager City Strategy and Marketing Planning, Satwinder Sandhu. “The integration of all three plans is unique and is aimed at ensuring that urban growth is sustainable in the long term.
“A 30 year time frame was chosen because it was needed to cover the life cycle of major infrastructure items,” he said. “It is essential to catch these big ticket items in order to make long term financial planning meaningful.”
A project framework was established that involved the formation of a steering group that would oversee the whole project, and a working group made up of planners, engineers and accountants, that would be involved in the operations.
Following this, a project design phase was initiated to identify the key steps involved in GS2030. Each step was planned in detail, with actions, outputs, resources and responsible officers identified.
The Long Term Infrastructure Plan of GS2030 covers Council’s entire major infrastructure. Its aim is to produce a 30 year capital expenditure program for each service area, including water supply, sewerage, stormwater drainage, waste disposal, roads and streetscape, open spaces, and community facilities.
“It defines the required level of service for each area of infrastructure. This is to ensure that clear choices can be made in terms of future major capital works,” Satwinder Sandhu said. Following this, a Financial Model was developed that covered all services.
“The Financial Model will provide Council with a typical residential bill and financial statements over the 30 year period,” said Satwinder Sandhu. “Many cities are facing unsustainable growth and GS2030 provides some valuable lessons to be learnt.”
For further information, contact Satwinder Sandhu on (02) 6962 8149.
