3 months ago
22
Western Australia’s housing minister says the government has learned from past mistakes in Ellenbrook as the first wheels start turning in a decades-long plan to build 50,000 new homes in Perth’s north.
The long-awaited Ellenbrook train line, first promised to residents in Perth’s north-eastern corridor in 2008, eventually opened 16 years later, in 2024.
The proposed development area, according to the East Wanneroo District Structure Plan.
Now, a new major development is under way to Ellenbrook’s west, and there are concerns future residents could face familiar woes.
The first three precincts, including the development of 8000 new homes, within the East Wanneroo District Structure Plan, were approved by the Western Australian Planning Commission on Monday.
The plan outlines a total of 28 precincts when completed, which will unlock 8000 hectares of land over the next 50 years.
It is expected the development – across the suburbs of Wanneroo, Mariginiup, Gnangara, Jandabup and Pinjar – will be home to 150,000 people.
But the plans are not without criticism, with the first housing developments now approved without any transport, schools and other essential services in the works.
Housing Minister John Carey admitted nothing had been finalised, although those services had been added into the structure plan.
“It does have to provide for future schools, transit corridors. That will be realised at a later date, but we need to map that out right now,” he said.
But Carey was adamant the government had learned its lesson from developments in Ellenbrook, and the delays and changes made to Metronet plans that had impacted the area.
Premier Roger Cook has previously said his government, elected in 2017, started the Ellenbrook project from scratch, despite the Liberal government infamously promising the rail line in 2008 and again in 2013.
During that time, the suburb’s population more than doubled to rank among the fastest growing in the state – and the most car-dependent.
“In previous times, I just don’t think there was the clear vision,” Carey said.
“A lot of the planning done now does provide greater clarity.
“I think we have learned from Ellenbrook, and I’m very confident we are going to create great communities.”
Carey also took aim at those who criticised both greenfield estates and urban infill, labelling them with his own acronym: BANANAs, or, “build absolutely nothing anywhere near anything”.
“The reality is people need to have housing choice, so BANANAs, NIMBYs, move aside. We need this land,” he said.
Work on the a precinct in Mariginiup – set to deliver more than 2000 new homes across 123 hectares – will be the first to begin.
Stockland’s Grevillea estate will include a mix of housing types from traditional family-sized blocks to townhouses.
Stockland’s WA development general manager, Col Dutton, said the estate would play a critical role in providing much-needed housing for a growing region.
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“Today’s announcement represents a significant step forward in unlocking large-scale housing supply,” he said.
“We’re proud to be the first developer to put shovels in the ground to deliver the first lots in the East Wanneroo growth corridor to create a vibrant community ... that will cater to a range of buyers from those entering the market looking for their first home right through to those looking to downsize in our over-50s land-lease community.”
Dutton said the precinct was expected to provide around 75 hectares of regional open space, comprising six football ovals, 20 fenced netball courts, eight tennis courts, and an indoor centre with four multi-use sports courts.
Carey said everything was about “supply, supply, supply”.
“And we know it has to be all parts of the continuum – social housing, affordable housing, infill and density development,” he said.
“It’s been a long held ambition by our state government to realise East Wanneroo, just 25 kilometres from the city, a 10-minute drive from Joondalup – this location will offer so many West Australians a place to call home.
“We should not underestimate how important East Wanneroo is as part of the housing solution. This is critical greenfield land that is needed to provide that pipeline of housing now and into the future.”
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