A $6.9 million children’s hub has officially opened in Craigieburn.
The Newbury Community Hub, on the corner of Newbury and Grand Boulevards, has preschool rooms, maternal and child health services, meeting spaces for community groups, training rooms, a toy library and a semi-commercial kitchen.
Hume mayor Adem Atmaca, fellow councillors, Yuroke MP Ros Spence and state Minister for Families and Children Jenny Mikakos gathered to unveil the new centre last Wednesday. It can accommodate up to 99 children and will ensure the council can provide 15 hours of government-funded kindergarten for four-year-olds each week as well as other early-years programs.
Newbury Community Hub is part of the council’s four-year capital works program.
“We’re committed to building world-class facilities that provide our community with an opportunity to be inspired and engaged in their learning and development so they can grow and remain connected in their local neighbourhoods,” Cr Atmaca said.
The council received $1.069 million from the Department of Education and Childhood Development to partially fund the project.
Construction began in April last year.
In 2013, a report commissioned by Melbourne’s outer suburban councils showed $10 billion needed to be spent on new education, transport and health services in the next 15 years or there was the risk of creating a divide between the well-serviced inner-city ring and the flailing outer suburbs. The
One Melbourne or Two? report by Essential Economics found the councils, including Hume, Whittlesea, Melton, Wyndham, Yarra Ranges, Casey and Kardinia, needed to cater for up to 650,000 more people within 15 years.
According to the report, $64 million was needed to build 74 new kindergartens to accommodate 7440 more kindergarten places.
Hume council predicts population growth of 79.5 per cent by 2041, from 193,022 people to 346,533 people.
Growth in housing stock is a major driver of population growth in the area, particularly new housing estates on greenfield sites and subdivision.
The number of houses in Craigieburn is set to rise by 108 per cent within 26 years, according to forecast.id figures.
