When John Gibbons arrived 30 years ago as a councillor at the old Shire of Werribee – population 35,000 – it was growing, but not particularly quickly.

"Growth just wasn't an issue," says the councillor, who holds the housing portfolio for Wyndham Council, population 210,000.

Today, the growth is swamping the area, as thousands of new housing lots come onto the market and demand for community services from new residents rockets – but without a corresponding increase in state or federal government funding, says Cr Gibbons.

Figures for Wyndham Council show the past financial year had the largest growth ever recorded for the outer west. More than 6500 housing lots were approved in Wyndham's areas in the year to July. There were almost 9000 applications for subdivisions in the area. Birth notices show more than 80 births a week are appearing for suburbs within Wyndham's catchment.