Perron's $1bn Cockburn plan gets green light

The state’s planning commission has given property investment giant Perron Group approval to proceed with its $1 billion plan for Cockburn, the largest project to make its way through the new expedited planning pathway.

The approval comes almost 12 months after the group first unveiled plans to double Cockburn Gateway Shopping City’s current retail footprint, build two new office buildings, a hotel, more tha 800 new dwellings, an entertainment precinct, a transport hub and public open spaces.

The project, which is expected to span a 21-hectare site, has been more than a decade in the making and is expected to be built in four stages over the next 20 years.

The first stage, worth more than $200 million, is already fully-funded, with construction expected to begin within the next two years.

That stage will centre around the expansion of the shopping centre, with additional retail, cinemas, dining, entertainment and a child care centre.

Perron Group Property Investments general manager Andrew Byars said the company was now commencing a detailed design and construction plan to bring the new vision for Cockburn to life.

As part of the approval conditions, Perron was given 36 months to substantially progress the project.

The development is expected to support 1,400 direct jobs and more than 3,800 indirect jobs throughout the construction period, as well as more than 2,200 ongoing jobs once completed.

In giving the proposal the green light, the WA Planning Commission acknowledged the proposal’s potential to provide new employment opportunities, improved public amenity and better connections with public transport.

Perron’s plans are among 14 to be approved by the commission through the state government’s new expedited planning pathway, which was established to stimulate economic activity in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The approval comes after the group confirmed it had lodged an application to build a $5.5 million pedestrian bridge connecting both sides of Beeliar Drive in Cockburn with the planned Cockburn Quarter precinct.

Perron expects to build the new bridge within the next five to six years, which will provide safer access between the two precincts currently separated by eight lanes of Beeliar Drive.