Town planners look to regions

WESTERN Australia’s town planners have shifted their focus from metropolitan residential planning to infrastructure and regional projects as a result of lingering effects of the financial crisis.

GHD principal of urban planning and design, Ross Montgomery, said a lack of finance available for property development had resulted in some planners seeking work outside their traditional scope.

GHD was the second ranked town planner in the WA Business News Book of Lists, with 23 planners on its staff.

“Because no-one was lending, no-one could do the studies to demonstrate that they could have a business case to prove they could do the further work, so the whole thing ground to a halt,” Mr Montgomery said.

“There definitely has been a bit of a shift in Perth, where companies that might not have troubled to do work for local governments or state government departments are now actively seeking out those jobs and being very price competitive.”

RPS Group managing director Rod Dixon said the past year had been a very busy period for the firm, which traditionally had a focus on regional projects.

“The north-west has been particularly busy, with the enormous growth in Port Hedland and Karratha and the land supply issues up there,” Mr Dixon told WA Business News.

“We’re getting a lot of work up there and in the mid-west, we’re doing Oakajee Port planning, and we’re doing the South Hedland town centre rejuvenation work, so it’s those sorts of projects that have held us in good stead.

“But also, the planning process is not getting any easier, so time delays and approval delays continue to mean that we work harder than ever to get decisions.”

Mr Dixon said the outlook for the next year was strong, as land developers were returning to the market and looking at due diligence on new growth areas around Perth.

“The challenge for us as part of the development industry is the finance sector and the ability for private clients to gain the finance either in a timely manner or to continue the stages of their projects once approved,” he said.

“There is demand from the general public but I guess the real issue is where the developers go with financing subsequent stages and acquiring further land.”