For years the city’s fastest-growing area had waited for a shopping centre and public school, but many residents felt like they had been forgotten until preliminary earth works started last week.

Estella resident Corrie Putland lived near the future supermarket site and said it would save a lot of time.

“We’ve lived here probably two years and we were told there’d be shops going in, just up the road would be perfect,” Mr Putland said.

“At the moment, you’re always forgetting something in the shopping and it’s half an hour or 45 minutes by the time you go into town, do your thing and come back out.

“Being able to send the kids just up the road for a bit of cheese while you’recooking dinner would be perfect.”

The developers behind the proposed shopping centre had struggled to get financing for the project, which would see a Foodworks supermarket, Chemist Warehouse, a bottle shop, a butchery, a hairdresser and cafe on the site. 

“We definitely need a shopping centre and school out here,” Boorooma resident Dannii Pullen said.

““We send our boys to Henschke (Primary School) and I wanted a school here before my daughter goes next year, but I’ll move her over if that miraculously opens.

“I’ll believe it when I see it.”

The state government has slowly been moving towards building a public school in the growth area, but Mr Putland thought the housing boom would also be good for the new businesses.

“Having the same sort of shops as they have at South City, like a takeaway or pizza place and a cafe, it’d be great, especially if they did tradie deals,” he laughed.