The state government and the developers of the Coomera Town Centre cannot find agreement over who should fund major transport improvements in the area. These discussions are delaying the Coomera Town Centre developement.

These upgrades include $210m  for Foxwell Road, $90m for the Northern Interchange and $140million for the Southern Interchange.

Its not unusual for Governments to insist developers to fund major road upgrades as part of their development costs however any local in Coomera and Upper Coomera can advise you that these changes are required now, well before the Coomera Town Centre is even developed. You can wait inline up to 40 minutes for a 500m drive to the motorway when Exit 54 clogs up with regular morning and afternoon traffic.

Paul Weston reported :

Transport briefing notes prepared for Minister Scott Emerson show the Government fears that if it funds the project it would have a significant impact on the “constrained State budget position”.

But if the Government pushes too hard on Westfield on its contribution, the developer could take legal action and pull out wrecking a development which will create thousands of jobs.

Westfield wanted the Foxwell Road interchange along with its planned shopping centre completed in 2017 to take advantage of the Commonwealth Games a year later, the briefing notes said.

Transport bureaucrats in late 2012 advised that developers should contribute $640,000 per hectare towards new roads and Deputy Premier Jeff Seeney was forced to “stop the clock” when a resolution could not be found.

“The applicant for the development had indicated a likely legal challenge, particularly in respect to the reasonableness of conditions being imposed,” a briefing note said.

Transport and Main Roads had planned to collapse the existing eastern and western roundabouts at Foxwell Road at the Motorway, converting them to signals.

But the documents explain that those works were not set to be delivered until 2021.

Government bureaucrats suggested a full upgrade of the intersection was “unreasonable” so the developer should contribute.

Mr Emerson in a letter to Mr Seeney wrote: “I am concerned that these decisions have an increased impact on the ability of TMR to deliver infrastructure in an orderly and well planned manner.”

The master plan for the Coomera Town Centre covers 680ha and will allow for 25,000 properties providing homes for about 50,000 residents.

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