Ellenbrook land under new framework

More than 600 hectares of land in North Ellenbrook has recently been assessed as potential future development plans loom for the area.

The Western Australian Planning Commission (WAPC) has approved the North Ellenbrook (West) District Structure Plan, a document to guide future land use and development on 611 hectares of land in the area.

The structure plan estimated 4,000 to 4,500 dwellings will be constructed to accommodate 12,000 to 13,500 people.

An additional 113,700 residents have been forecasted for the North Ellenbrook area by 2015.

The area covered by the structure plan is expected to be rezoned to ‘Urban deferred’ under the metropolitan regional scheme.

After approval, the structure plan would now be given ‘due regard’ by planning decision makers.

Parcel Property led the structure plan proposal, on behalf of a main landowners group that owns 556 of the 611 hectares in the area.

According to the structure plan report, the area is currently used for a range of rural land pursuits with the existing dwellings and associated buildings to be removed as part of future development.

Parcel Property land development general manager Jeremy Cordina said North Ellenbrook was an important next phase in Perth’s affordable housing market and a critical catchment area for the Metronet train station.

“The exhaustion of supply in Ellenbrook is fast approaching meaning new greenfield developments will continue to be critical to accommodate our future housing needs,” he said.

“In addition to achieving the State government’s high infill dwelling targets, 43,000 dwellings will need to be accommodated within greenfield areas in the City of Swan over the next three decades.”

“Housing choice extends to more than the built form and includes attributes such as affordability, character, amenities, and accessibility, amongst others.”

Mr Cordina said the additional federal funding for the new Tonkin Highway interchange helped Parcel Property gained approval for the structure plan.

“Without this interchange, home buyers wanting affordability and choice would have to go further out to suburbs such as Bullsbrook,” he said.

The state government allocated $25 million to fund a new interchange on the Tonkin Highway, north of Ellenbrook, as part of the 2022-23 budget.

The federal government committed $50 million while an additional $25 million will be contributed through private investment.

Lendlease also prepared and lodged a draft North Ellenbrook (East) District Structure Plan.

The City of Swan council decided to notify the WAPC that it did not support both the west and east district structure plans, at its meeting in June last year.

According to the meeting minutes, the council requested significant amendments to the structure plans.