Our community stands at the crossroads of time. With the potential benefits of future 2032 Olympic events and the economic, social, logistical, and financial gains of this event – we must be bold in our decision making now.
It is common knowledge that our community has a rental accommodation crisis is our region. With the growth of Toowoomba and many new families calling this great city home, demand for housing has outstripped supply. Many families are waiting months and months for a place to call home. Numerous agencies have indicated this shortage. Toowoomba is growing and much of the land that is suitable to be developed for economic benefits has been developed. The remaining land that is supposedly available for development will cost the owners far more than the benefit they will gain. Thereby jeopardizing the initiatives and slowing if not stopping future growth.2nd line
I believe it is in the interests of the Council and this Region to work with Developers, to open the opportunities for growth, and reduce the red tape to access these areas. Toowoomba will benefit from a regional point of view and reap future financial, social, and physical benefits from this.
Westbrook says let’s start working together
The Olympics may seem 11 years away but to realise the benefits of this event, construction crews need to start soon, building investment needs to commence, suitable training facilities and community centres need to be created, improvements in our traffic network, transport improvements, and visitors will need places to stay. In our current position our region is struggling just to meet our own demands – then add in potentially thousands of more visitors, tourists, operators, new families to this region – I doubt very much Toowoomba could handle this without substantial investment, and bold decision making.
I believe it is time to be bold. My question is:
Will history show that our Council saw this opportunity that would benefit the Region and made the wise decisions to make the necessary development changes?
Clayton Rogers | Westbrook Community
