A giant new industrial estate near Kwinana has become a major focus for the state government’s land development agency.
A giant new industrial estate near Kwinana has become a major focus for the state government’s land development agency.
It consists of 1,400 hectares and will provide more than a third of the new industrial land in the metropolitan area over the next 30 years, so it’s not surprising Latitude 32 Industry Zone is one of the top priorities for LandCorp.
The government agency is working on industrial estates across the state but none as big as Latitude 32.
LandCorp general manager industrial John Hackett expects the new estate to underpin a major structural shift in Perth’s industrial land market.
“We see the whole axis of industrial land supply moving from the eastern corridor to the south-west,” he said.
This will be driven by the limited supply and rising cost of land in mature areas like Kewdale and Welshpool.
Mr Hackett sees Latitude 32, along with the neighbouring industrial areas of Kwinana, Rockingham and Henderson, as the major growth area.
State government agencies have been working for more than a decade on Latitude 32, formerly known as the Hope Valley Wattleup redevelopment area.
The area presents some unique challenges, including the fact that LandCorp owns only 15 per cent of the land.
Ownership of the remainder is widely dispersed, with Cockburn Cement being the single largest owner.
Cockburn and other big landowners have targeted the area for its rich limestone base, which creates a challenging topography for industrial land development.
LandCorp’s immediate goal is to finalise the planning framework for Latitude 32 by the end of the year.
The planning framework will clarify the preferred landform levels, the timing of quarrying operations and the staging of development activities.
LandCorp is also aiming to give landowners more clarity around the cost of developing their land.
“A major focus is to provide certainty to landowners and industry,” Mr Hackett said.
The planning framework will be followed by the completion of local structure plans, which are due to be lodged with the WA Planning Commission by the end of 2014.
That will allow for the preparation of defined development areas.
The first land to be released at Latitude 32 was in the 120-hectare Flinders precinct, which has attracted a handful of businesses, including steel distributor Southern Steel and modular accommodation manufacturer ATCO Structures & Logistics.
ATCO Structures & Logistics managing director Adam Beattie said the proximity and access to road, rail and port networks was a big attraction, as was the ability to draw on local suppliers and workers.
He also praised the design and layout of the development.
“They really thought about what is important to industry, including wide road access, which will be particularly useful for our business,” Mr Beattie said.
Mr Hackett said big changes were afoot in the Flinders precinct.
“You can expect to see a very different place in two to four years,” he said.
He said the next release after Flinders was likely to be the 45ha owned by LandCorp on the former Wattleup town site.
Latitude 32 will be designed to have several precincts, including an intermodal facility to improve freight movements.
Mr Hackett said one of its advantages was its proximity to the Australian Marine Complex at Henderson and the planned port developments in Cockburn Sound.
“We need to build links to Latitude 32 so more entities can utilise that infrastructure,” he said.
“The intelligence we are getting is that there will be strong demand from the sub-sea engineering sector.”
Development
LandCorp has projected that Latitude 32 will be home to about 400 businesses employing 10,000 people over the next 30 years.
Another big growth area will be the Neerabup industrial estate, north of Wanneroo.
LandCorp expects this area to have a similar profile to Canning Vale, and become home to 1,000 businesses and 15,000 jobs over 20 years.
Forrestdale is targeted as a third growth area, with projections it will have 300 business and 7,000 jobs over the next decade.
Mr Hackett said a big part of LandCorp’s role across the state was to be a facilitator.
“We can’t deliver all the industrial land but we can encourage greater participation from the private sector by facilitating the planning and approval of industrial areas,” he said.
He said the creation of jobs in locations such as Neerabup and Forrestdale was strategically important because it meant people could live and work in the same area.
Looking further ahead, LandCorp is working with the Department of Planning on the Economic and Employment Lands Strategy (EELS), which has identified 37 sites across Perth and the Peel region for future industrial estates.
“The state has never had a blueprint for industrial land supply,” Mr Hackett said.
It is investigating funding options that will allow it to “deconstrain” 11 priority sites, including at Pinjar, Whiteman, Bullsbrook and Baldivis.
Early work on these industrial locations reflects the 10 to 15-year gap that normally exists between land identification and land development.
Region growth
In regional WA, LandCorp is focused on delivering industrial land at fast-growing towns like Karratha, Port Hedland and Onslow.
Gap Ridge industrial estate in Karratha will eventually include 260ha, or about half the size of Canning Vale.
The stage one development is 110ha and LandCorp is working on releasing a further 50ha to keep up with demand.
“It’s about affordability and more diverse businesses,” Mr Hackett said.
“Getting more diversity is pretty important for those towns.”
He said the release of more residential land in the Pilbara was also critical, so that businesses could obtain accommodation for their staff.
Another ongoing project is obtaining planning, environmental and native title approvals for the state’s ‘strategic industrial areas’ including Ashburton North (near Onslow), Kemerton (near Bunbury), Anketell (near Karratha) and Boodarie (near Port Hedland).
