Land release.

For twenty-one years various New South Wales state government's have dithered and procrastinated on the release of housing land at West Dapto.

It is intended that this new subdivision will house fifty thousand new residents, giving it the status of the Illawarra's third city, but there are several reasons why the planners should think long and hard before committing pen to paper and hitting the " go " button.

West Dapto is situated on a flood plain. All those scientists predicting future weather patterns because of global warming suggest more intense storms and freak rain events. In such circumstances, building houses on a flood plain might not be a very good idea.

The new development is served by a single road - which floods on a regular basis, crosses the main railway line serving the south coast, and is hopelessly inadequate at peak times with existing traffic.

There are plans to extend Fowlers road over the F6 to provide a flood free access, but neither Wollongong council or the state government have signalled a willingness to pick up the tab - and there are no plans for this to proceed in the foreseeable future.

West Dapto represents about half the future housing stock for this area. A big land release is urgently needed to take pressure off land prices and give the Illawarra room to grow.

The question is - should we be considering building on a flood plain ?

Some will argue that many cities and towns are on flood plains and experience regular flooding. This is distressing to residents, but accepted by many as part of the price for building on cheap land or having water views.

The other question is whether a land release should go ahead without first putting in the infrastructure such as a decent access road - and at least committing to the provision of adequate facilities such as schools, medical care and shopping centres.
All too often in the past new subdivisions have been created in a barren terrain devoid of any services for decades - and as a result become an unpopular slum consisting of mostly welfare tenants.

West Dapto has promise - provided the planners bite the bullet and make wise decisions - and then get the money to implement what they promise.

The chance of that happening seems remote !