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This article was published on Wednesday, 16 April, 2014. The information contained within may be out of date or inaccurate. News articles and media releases older than 60 days are archived for future reference.

Council holds off on further GV link development until bypass funding announced

At last night's Council meeting the councillors agreed that advocacy for the Shepparton bypass should be a focus for GV Link as this is a critical step in securing the future of the development.

Mayor Jenny Houlihan said that Council is keen to see GV Link progress but is unable to do anything further until funds become available for the bypass.

"GV Link is high on our list of priorities but the critical concern now is to lobby both the State government and opposition to provide funds for the Shepparton bypass. The bypass has been on the drawing board for 19 years now and its lack of progression has hindered any possible further development of GV Link at this time," said Cr Houlihan.

Council will now negotiate with government to discuss the possible re-allocation of unused funds to relevant programs. Council has $2.25m of Federal Government funds and $1.5m of State Government funds not used from the original funding.

Cr Houlihan said once funding for the bypass is secured or an investor found then Council will revisit the project.

The Make Shepparton Greater campaign has the Shepparton bypass as a priority for the critical development of the region's fruit, dairy and viticulture industries and seeks funding of $966m for construction of a four lane Goulburn Valley Highway bypass.