Newcastle Region Gets Ready for New Town and Economy Boost

Friday February 13, 2009

Huntlee, the newly-approved planned town to be built between Branxton and North Rothbury in the Hunter Valley later in 2009, has been claimed it may boost the region's economy.

The $1.8 billion project, managed by LWP Property Group and permitted by NSW Planning Minister Kristina Keneally, is claimed to be able to provide employment for up to 8,000 people.

"It will create 5,000 jobs during the construction phase and 3,000 jobs long term," Danny Murphy, director of the LWP Property Group, told the Newcastle Herald on Thursday.

While the project has been shrouded in controversy, Ms Keneally believes the Newcastle project is positive, especially as the developer is investing $1million to conserve about 6,000 hectares of land by creating Persoonia, a native park.

Councillor James Ryan has another opinion. He told the Newcastle paper that endangered plant, Persoonia pauciflora, could be made extinct if the development goes ahead.

Cr Ryan also believes that there is little use in conserving some areas of the region because they're too contaminated by chemicals.

On the plus side, the arrival of the Newcastle-region town will allegedly improve surrounding road infrastructure such as the F3 freeway.

"It gives me another case to argue when speaking about the F3," Joel Fitzgibbon, Minister for the Hunter, told the Newcastle Herald.

"It's on the shortlist for the Infrastructure Australia projects, it's compliant with the guidelines and in the not-too-distant future an announcement will be made."

Huntlee, near Newcastle, will comprise of the Huntlee Town Centre and a lake, and is said to become home for approximately 20,000 residents by 2025.

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