THERE’S a few things on Matthew Hawker’s Estella wishlist that many Wagga suburbs take for granted.
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Among them are a coffee shop, a bottle-o and a petrol station.
“There’s basically nothing out here,” Mr Hawker said, who built his new home earlier this year.
“It’s not too bad to get into town, but when you compare what we have with other suburbs, it just seems like we could do with more.
“Everyone likes to get up, read the paper and buy a coffee in the morning. You would think there’s enough people out here now to do that.”
Wagga’s northern reaches have grown rapidly over the past five years – and show no sign of slowing down.
At Estella Rise, the biggest housing estate in the northern suburbs, more than 350 homes are set to be built in the next two years.
With pressure placed on existing infrastructure, calls are growing louder for additional investment.
“The growth has been phenomenal,” Estella Rise’s selling agent Neville Chapple said.
“Time and access into Wagga will need to be looked at and upgraded in time.
“It’s certainly something that has to be on the agenda.
“But we’re not too sure how far away we’ll see them.”
Estella Rise has moved to connect services and community facilities including its own parkland. Also in the pipeline is an 80-place childcare centre.
A long called for supermarket is set to go ahead in coming months, providing more facilities for service-starved residents.
There are also positive signs for a school, with Wagga MP Daryl Maguire putting it on his wishlist at the last state election.
However, industry experts say governments and industry can be “gun shy” to invest in additional services, fearing underwhelming demand can lead to white elephants.
Estella Progress Association president Paula Sharnock said there was “definitely” a demand for facilities such as shops and community facilities, but is playing the waiting game.
“Obviously you’d like all of them now, but that’s not economically possible,” she said.
“But a lot of the services are of a high priority. The area has really taken off in the last 10 years.”