Industrial land push at Busselton

Satterley Property Group is looking at its next big Busselton development, earmarking 260 hectares adjacent to the region’s airport for a mixed use project.

Group chief executive Nigel Satterley says he plans to meet with Shire of Busselton representatives to devise a strategy for the development of the land near the Busselton Regional Airport. The land is also near the $1 billion Provence residential development, which is billed as Busselton’s first master-planned community, and part of the shire’s wider Airport Structure Plan.

Mr Satterley told WA Business News he hopes to have a number of lots ready within 15 months, but issues regarding water and sewerage provision had to be solved first, and these would be discussed at the meeting

Mr Satterley said the group owned about 260 hectares of land, eight kilometres east of the town near the shire cemetery and planned to create multiple lots ranging between 1,000 square metres and 4,000sq m.

He said the commercial and composite lots would be suitable for small contractors and those who wished to live on site.

“There is an acute shortage of industrial land in Busselton and this will be geared towards small business people,” Mr Satterley said.

The composite lots are likely to have family homes located at the front with a large shed or industrial workshop to the rear.

Satterley Group’s plans for the land and in particular, the inclusion of composite lots, have met with mixed reviews from local agents.

LJ Hooker Busselton partner Kevin Cross said all the light-industrial land that had been available in Busselton had been bought, so any additional lots would be welcome.

Only two vacant lots of light-industrial land had been sold in Busselton so far this year at an average $300,000 for 2,000sq m blocks.

But Mr Cross was uncertain whether composite lots would sell well near the airport and said the land would likely suit aviation related industries, export businesses and cold store operations.

“A street of that type (composite) is not that popular in Busselton at the moment, and considering the volume of traffic and its distance from town, I’m not sure if it would be well received,” he said.

Fraser Real Estate commercial property manager Trevor Frusher said there was no industrial land to speak of in Busselton and he was fielding five to six enquiries a week for freehold lots, particularly from aviation related industries.

“There is huge demand for freehold industrial lots in Busselton but I’ve got reservations about the proposed composite lots because they’re not as easy to sell as the purpose-zoned lots,” Mr Frusher said.

He said there were two composite properties zoned for both commercial and residential uses on the market in Busselton at present that were not selling.

However, demand for heavy industrial and large light-industrial lots in Busselton still exceeded supply and he expected those lots at the airport to attract good prices.