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Growing up fastest

Growing up fastest

If the unprecedented rise of apartment towers wasn’t enough of a hint, last month there was confirmation that Southbank has the fastest rate of residential growth of any inner-city suburb in Australia.

The Australian Bureau of Statistic has released figures showing that Southbank’s population increased 11 per cent between June 2011 and June 2012.

Southbank’s residential population was listed as 13,600 as of June 2012.

Southbank also has the third-largest increase in population density of Melbourne suburbs with 430 people per square kilometre.

Southbank Residents Group’s outgoing president, Michael Smolders, said the continual rise of the population was only going to get faster and the needs of all the new residents needed to be considered, before they got here.

“If not managed correctly by local council and State Government – and at the moment it’s not – there will be a rapidly diminishing impact on resident amenity,” Mr Smolders said.

“We must urgently see a state/local government vision and commitment on how the suburb will be developed and what guaranteed improvements will be made to local infrastructure,” he added.

Mr Smolders said there was still plenty of community infrastructure that needed to be considered.

“Southbank is yet to see the sod being turned on a school development. There is no police or ambulance station and child care facilities do no exist,” he said.

“Open spaces are not being secured for future public use, roads are becoming increasingly clogged with private vehicles, no announcements have been made on increasing public transport options and towers are being inadequately massed with a lack of separation between them.”

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