Murray Bridge | Developments & News

[rogue]

^^ Apartments coming right up.....

[Jim]

^^ Apartments coming right up.....

Cool, I guess the old block is solid bluestone.

[Wayno]

The old Yatla prison will be an excellent site or some housing and reserves in the gorges. I just hope they completely bulldoze the old prison at Yalta and it does not become another lame museum. If the original building could be renovated for a worthwhile use (not a museum) that would be different, but bulldoze the rest.

for sale - 400 single bedroom bluestone cottages, good security, shared bathroom....

[Shuz]

A MULTI-MILLION dollar equine precinct and 3500-home residential development at Murray Bridge is set to become a major hub for thoroughbred racing in SA.

Murray Bridge Racing Club has released plans to buy 800ha of farming land next to the South-Eastern Freeway to build a new racetrack and training complex as well as creating a 350ha residential area with a retail and community centre. This is equal to an area 15 times the size of Cheltenham racecourse

More than 30 per cent of the total site will be dedicated to open space.

The development still has to gain State Government approval. However, it is envisaged that within three to four years a new state-of-the-art racecourse with grass and synthetic tracks, along with at least 50ha of horse-training facilities will be completed.

Murray Bridge Racing Club chairman Reg Nolan said once the new racecourse was operational, the present track adjoining the golf course also would be redeveloped.

"In the longer term, the plan will see the development of 3500 houses as part of a quality residential development," he said.

"It really has the potential to become the jewel in the crown for racing in SA."

Thoroughbred Racing SA will act as guarantor for a $5 million loan after the provincial club signed an agreement with the state's controlling body last week.

The agreement was to buy the land in February offering the existing racecourse and farmland as security. The planned equine precinct will feature new and fully resourced race and training tracks, multi-purpose function and spectator facilities, as well as a specialised estate for trainers and their horses.

Environmental features for the scheme include on-site water storage, wetland and water recycling. TRSA chairman Philip Bentley said: "We anticipate that Murray Bridge eventually will be the largest thoroughbred training centre in the state."

[crawf]

Phor!, thats huge news for the bridge.

This development will bring around 7000 new residents into the town, pushing the town's population to around 26,000.

The new prisons, increasing development in nearby Monarto and the close proximity to Adelaide will also help increase Murray Bridge's population.

Watch this space

[Hippodamus]

Yes, I agree Crawf - it is inevitable that MB will increase in population over the coming decade and the Urban Growth Management Plan by Council and their consultants from last year predicted that the population will reach 30,000 in the next two decades.

I predict that Murray Bridge will become more like Mount Barker, and by that I mean in the sense of a surge in real estate prices, liveability and a place where more Adelaideans will opt to live in.

It's a great town, with a real sense of community and growth with really good leadership especially from Council which also has a very proactive planning department. I have all the confidence that Murray Bridge will just keep getting better and better into the future.

[Hippodamus]

Shuz, what is the date and source of that extracted article?

[Prince George]

These forums have a strange dual personality. On the one hand there's the higher, denser, count-cranes-in-the-CBD threads, and then there's the big land release in regional town threads, or the Northern Connector one, which seem to be celebrating the opportunity to spread our population yet thinner again.

Without having a real plan in front of you, it's too early to tell exactly what's going to happen up there, but at 350 ha split between 3500 homes that's an average lot size of about 700 sq m (allowing about 30% of the area for roads). So it looks like we're going to get another big, flat 'burb, only this one will be located 80km from Adelaide, and on the other side of a mountain range. That's twice as far away as Gawler or Mt Barker, and they're already beyond the limits of where our growth should be heading.

Does the town have employment opportunities to support the people who are going to live in this area (whose houses we can safely assume will be cheap by Adelaide's standards, but expensive by Murray Bridge's)? No, the majority of them will be people who are working in Adelaide, so we get to add another couple of thousand daily commuters to the highway. I can almost hear them bleating now "Oh, won't somebody please help save us from high petrol prices?" Look at the tears welling up in their eyes, how can we not build them an expensive transit link, or subsidise their petrol costs? Surely they could not have predicted this was going to happen *sob sob*

And does Murray Bridge have the infrastructure capacity for another 3500 homes? Probably not, so it's going to require sewage, water, gas, electrical, communications upgrades, and probably work on the connecting roads as well. Will that get paid for by the developer and the new homeowners? No, that'll come from the State government, which means from the larger tax-base in Adelaide. So the city effectively subsidises the whole development. And we haven't included schools or public health either.

Let's be realistic, this isn't really about a boom for Murray Bridge. The real story here is that the racing club wants a new racecourse, but the track can't pay for itself, so they're going to bankroll the whole thing by making a residential development as well. That development in turn gets a subsidy from the government (ie the taxpayers), so in effect we get to make a gift of a state-of-the-art racing track for the minority of people who care about such things.

[crawf]

These forums have a strange dual personality. On the one hand there's the higher, denser, count-cranes-in-the-CBD threads, and then there's the big land release in regional town threads, or the Northern Connector one, which seem to be celebrating the opportunity to spread our population yet thinner again.

Without having a real plan in front of you, it's too early to tell exactly what's going to happen up there, but at 350 ha split between 3500 homes that's an average lot size of about 700 sq m (allowing about 30% of the area for roads). So it looks like we're going to get another big, flat 'burb, only this one will be located 80km from Adelaide, and on the other side of a mountain range. That's twice as far away as Gawler or Mt Barker, and they're already beyond the limits of where our growth should be heading.

Difference is Murray Bridge is and always will be a town its own right, I support any move for decentralization in this state. We need to focus more on increasing the regional population.

There was article last year stating that Murray Bridge will hit 30,000 by 2025, plus the potential for 100,000 residents. Worth reading
http://www.sensational-adelaide.com/for ... f=12&t=854

Does the town have employment opportunities to support the people who are going to live in this area (whose houses we can safely assume will be cheap by Adelaide's standards, but expensive by Murray Bridge's)? No, the majority of them will be people who are working in Adelaide, so we get to add another couple of thousand daily commuters to the highway. I can almost hear them bleating now "Oh, won't somebody please help save us from high petrol prices?" Look at the tears welling up in their eyes, how can we not build them an expensive transit link, or subsidise their petrol costs? Surely they could not have predicted this was going to happen *sob sob*

While there will be a large number of people who will travel to Adelaide for work. The new Prisons will generate hundreds of new jobs, then you have the ever-increasing mining activity and local industries (such as meat products) in the Adelaide Hills and Murraylands and plans to make nearby Monarto a major transportation hub (air/rail/road) will also generate jobs.

Plus increasing population will open the door to extra retail jobs, businesses, education and government-based jobs etc...

And does Murray Bridge have the infrastructure capacity for another 3500 homes? Probably not, so it's going to require sewage, water, gas, electrical, communications upgrades, and probably work on the connecting roads as well. Will that get paid for by the developer and the new homeowners? No, that'll come from the State government, which means from the larger tax-base in Adelaide. So the city effectively subsidises the whole development. And we haven't included schools or public health either.

The thing that worries me is transport, Adelaide and Swanport Roads are the two main roads in Murray Bridge though there is no room for them to be duplicated to 4 lanes which will be a issue in the future.

I'm not sure what the local Public Transport is like, though there is calls for Murray Bridge to be included in the Adelaide Metro network but I really can't see that happening.

Let's be realistic, this isn't really about a boom for Murray Bridge. The real story here is that the racing club wants a new racecourse, but the track can't pay for itself, so they're going to bankroll the whole thing by making a residential development as well. That development in turn gets a subsidy from the government (ie the taxpayers), so in effect we get to make a gift of a state-of-the-art racing track for the minority of people who care about such things.

That could possibility be true, but its still a boom for Murray Bridge.

Horse Racing is very big in Australia, however as usual SA is lagging behind the other states when it comes to state of the art facilities. So this new horse racing complex is overall good news for SA and it will generate jobs in the local area.

[Wilfy 2007]

Good Morning,

So is this cause for a campaign for a Regular rail Passenger service from Murray Bridge to Adelaide?

Any thoughts?

[AG]

Good Morning,

So is this cause for a campaign for a Regular rail Passenger service from Murray Bridge to Adelaide?

Any thoughts?

Assuming an average of 2.5 persons per household and an increase of 3500 homes, I don't really think that 8750 extra people in a town over 100km from Adelaide by itself truly warrants a rail service. Does anyone know of any figures that exist that could show how many people travel into the Adelaide metropolitan area from the areas east of Adelaide? I don't imagine there would be many people from Murray Bridge who would travel into Adelaide on a daily basis.

[Norman]

The most Murray Bridge deserves is a few more buses to the city via Freeway (and Mount Barker) during peak. Rail is unviable in the Adelaide Hills.

[skyliner]

Good Morning,

So is this cause for a campaign for a Regular rail Passenger service from Murray Bridge to Adelaide?

Any thoughts?

Assuming an average of 2.5 persons per household and an increase of 3500 homes, I don't really think that 8750 extra people in a town over 100km from Adelaide by itself truly warrants a rail service. Does anyone know of any figures that exist that could show how many people travel into the Adelaide metropolitan area from the areas east of Adelaide? I don't imagine there would be many people from Murray Bridge who would travel into Adelaide on a daily basis.

FUTURE PROJECTION - You may be interested to know that at the same time, Protavia's Pulp Mill in Penola (due for completion about 2010) will mean opening the railway as standard gauge to 10 k's past Penola (where the mill is) AND that the SA gov't is looking into passenger services to MG (extending the line to MG of course). They obviously think this could work now.

As ALL south east traffic goes through MB it then makes enhanced rail services to MB as well.This can be capitalised on by making the through passenger trains drop off/pick up at MB as well as Mt Barker.(depending on scheduled timing of course).

Keep in mind that Mt B is now about 25000 and growing very fast in a VERY short time and is just up the track. (Trace this through ABS stats - one of the ten fastest growing areas in Australia). Also, remember the percentage of MB and Mt B population that will be commuters to Adelaide will rapidly increase as well. Together looking realistically at about 70000 - 80000 (MB and Mt B) in the not to distant future (maybe 2020) and with MG, up to 100000.The SA gov't should be looking at this scenario very closely.

SA - STATE ON THE MOVE

[Somebody]

So is this cause for a campaign for a Regular rail Passenger service from Murray Bridge to Adelaide?

Any thoughts?

No - the alignment is still stuffed.

If we are to ignore the population etc arguments (which are very valid), people won't take a train that takes 2+ hours over a bus or driving taking one hour.

As ALL south east traffic goes through MB it then makes enhanced rail services to MB as well.This can be capitalised on by making the through passenger trains drop off/pick up at MB as well as Mt Barker.(depending on scheduled timing of course).

I take it that you haven't experienced how dog slow that the Adelaide Hills line is.


For those who want to relive the memories of the former Bridgewater service and the Bluebirds, take the Overdue to Murray Bridge and get the bus back.

[skyliner]

Thanks for your thoughts Somebody - my comments were meant to be provocative but constructive.

Yes. I have experienced the dog slow journey through the hills on the Overland, bluebird and behind a 600c webb era steam engine as well as behind a 520 class steam loco (steamranger). It IS unbelievably slow.

And yes again, the alignment is still unsatisfactory.

However,instead of looking back, the future has to envisaged.Would I not be correct in thinking that some of speed issue at least would have to be addressed in the scenario I put in my last post? Considering Protavia in the mix, the SE line will be significantly upgraded for a start. Coupled with all this is the increased usage of the SE freeway to slow it down. (Observed on Ipswich Rd on the way to Brisbane - pop of Ipswich 136000).

Considering peak oil, petrol prices are said to go up again after Christmas - thereby adding favour to the rail proposal I put. It will be time against money and the best overall option will 'win'.

In essence, the population arguement, as said, is very strong.

SA - STATE ON THE MOVE