Call for Sunbury to follow Bendigo’s lead and build multi-storey carpark

A COUNCILLOR wants Hume to pay for and build a huge multi-storey complex on a council-owned lot as Sunbury parking reaches breaking point. And it’s a plan that has already worked elsewhere.

Bendigo’s multi-storey carpark in Edward St has solved similar issues experienced in Sunbury.

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• Call to spend budget money to end parking crush
• Pressure steps up over parking chaos
• Sunbury population hits 40,000 and growing fast

HUME Council should pay for and build a multi-storey carpark on the council-owned Harris Scarfe parking lot.

That’s the view of Sunbury councillor Jack Medcraft, who believes the lack of parking in the town’s CBD has reached a breaking point.

A previous plan to build a 580-bay multi-storey carpark at the Evans St site fell over in 2011 after lengthy negotiations by the council, Public Transport Victoria and developer Glenn Ingram.

Cr Medcraft said empty shopfronts in Evans St highlighted the problem for local businesses, with shoppers increasingly heading out of town because of the lack of parking and congestion.

“Parking in Sunbury is our biggest issue, but I believe the council can fix it,” he said.

“The council has been economically responsible over the years and has a surplus.

An elevated view of the Bendigo multi-storey carpark.

“If we could find tenants for ground floor trading and charge a daily rate, we could have a strong return on investment.”

The council could take the lead of the City of Greater Bendigo, which opened the $14.9 million Edward St carpark (below) in 2011 on council-owned land.

Greater Bendigo chief executive Craig Neimann told the Leader his council went ahead with building a 420-bay carpark and ground floor office complex following feedback from the community.

“There is not a market for private investors to build carparks in Bendigo, but as a regional city there was a demand for more parking from the community,” he said.

“The council decided to proceed with the development and around the same time it was negotiating with the State Government over relocating the State Trustees to Bendigo.”

Mr Neimann said on the modelling at the time and current occupancy levels for parking, they could get a return of investment within five years.

Sunbury state Labor MP Josh Bull said the State Government would look favourably on applications for state funding tied to a proposal such as a multistorey carpark.

“The Government has been in discussions with the view to a state and local partnership and this sort of proposal would make sense,” Mr Bull said.

Cr Jack Medcraft at the Harris Scarfe parking lot in Sunbury.