Developers in Mount Gambier say delays in receiving key SA Water approvals are slowing local housing growth.SA Water says it's developing a 30-year master plan to increase its infrastructure capacity in Mount Gambier.
Property website Domain recorded a 63 per cent rise in house prices in the town in the past five years to April. Developer Parry Kumar said 35 allotments had been sold for the next two stages of the project, worth about $5 million in housing contracts, but the stages were yet to receive SA Water approval after eight months.
"It's frustrating because people are investing in the town and want to bring more houses to the town and want to fill the rental shortage.An SA Water spokesperson said the existing infrastructure in Mount Gambier was able to meet customer demands. "As a result of the rapid, unprecedented housing growth across South Australia — including in Mount Gambier — and subsequent requests for new water and wastewater services, we acknowledge our capacity to process applications has been impacted." assure developers we're working as quickly as possible to provide accurate, timely advice on servicing solutions to their developments."
He said past government investment in water infrastructure had lagged in these areas, meaning they were not suitable for quick growth in demand."There just hasn't been enough investment in the past to keep up with demand and that's created a backlog," he said."You've got to have critical infrastructure to get these developments happening and water is an essential part of that.