PIA - Planning Institute of Australia NSW E-news
23 November 2017

City of Swan – Proud Platinum Sponsor of #PIACongress18

Where is the City of Swan?

Located 16 to 50 kilometres north east of the Perth CBD, the City of Swan is the largest local government area in metropolitan Perth. The City of Swan is an outer metropolitan “growth” council and one of 21 of Australia's fastest growing municipalities with population growth expected to double the national average over the next 20 years.

Encompassing an area of 1,043 square kilometres and covering approximately one fifth of the Perth metropolitan area, the City holds stewardship over a beautifully diverse expanse of land rich in natural assets.

Young Families Call City of Swan Home

With a median age of 34 and 80% of our residents aged less than 55, our population is young and family orientated, increasing rapidly over the last 10 years from approximately 95,400 in 2006 to 136,700 in 2016.

Home to the ‘Best Master-planned community in the world’

Over the next 10 years, the largest area of population growth is expected to take place in the “Urban Growth Corridor”, our new greenfield residential development area where the population is forecast to grow to approximately 32,000 residents living in 10,000 new dwellings by 2026.

Similar growth rates are also expected in our Ellenbrook local (planning) area where our forecasts show the population increasing from approximately 40,000 in 2016 to almost 60,000 and 7,000 new dwellings in 2026.

Ellenbrook is a new town in Swan, which has won many awards, including being named the best master-planned community in the world.

Gateway to Regional Western Australia

Midland is one of eight Strategic Metropolitan Centre’s throughout the Perth metropolitan area, but the only on where major state and metropolitan transport routes converge to provide the northern and eastern gateways to regional Western Australia and the Eastern States.

Additionally, both the metropolitan and interstate passenger and freight rail services run through Midland and Perth's domestic and international airports are located on our southern boundary.

Due to its strategic location, Midland’s catchment area extends far beyond the City’s boundaries to include the Perth Hills, Chittering, Bindoon, Gingin, Toodyay, the Avon Valley and the Wheatbelt region.

Diverse Economic Base

The City has a diverse economic base with considerable strength in a number of industry sectors including manufacturing, health care and social assistance, construction, and retail.

In the year ending 30 June 2016, the City’s gross regional product (GRP) reached $9.1 billion; an increase of 64% over ten years.

The strong growth in our local economy can be attributed to substantial growth in key industry sectors, new investment, residential and non-residential developments, rapid population growth, a strong labour force and significant growth in the number of jobs.

“There are more jobs in Swan than the total number of employed residents.”

With almost 10,000 actively trading businesses, the City is known for its wide variety of locations suitable for all business types, ranging from small and medium sized enterprises to major commercial centres, a large public/private hospital and health precinct, industrial parks, agriculture, tourism and a range of government, community and recreation facilities.

Swan Valley – WA’s Premier Tourism Region

One of the City's highlights is the magnificent Swan Valley, a unique region within metropolitan Perth covered by the Swan Valley Planning Act (1995) and regarded as one of WA’s premier tourism regions. A renowned grape growing region with world class wineries, restaurants, cafes, fresh food producers, breweries, distilleries, and a variety of recreational, cultural and tourism facilities, “The Valley” makes a significant contribution to the local economy.

With the tourism industry thriving and more than 3 million day trip visitors recorded in 2015/16, our achievements in planning, provision of tourism facilities and services, marketing and overall contribution to the local and State tourism industries has been recognised with multiple tourism awards at state and national levels.

Our Place Management Approach 

Our large land area comprises many diverse communities with differing needs and aspirations. Recognising that a ‘one size fits all’ approach does not effectively provide the necessary attention to service delivery, the City’s Place Management approach ensures that we work in a cross-functional integrated manner when planning the delivery of services, programs and infrastructure that are unique to each of our five Place Management areas, shifting the focus from organisational outputs to community outcomes.

Planning for such a large area requires creative solutions therefore our community members are invited to work with us to identify specific issues affecting their local community and produce a Local Area Plan (LAP) documenting solutions to meet the specific needs of their local area whilst supporting its unique character.

Commendation at the 2014 PIA (WA) Awards for Planning Excellence

There are twelve local areas for which LAPs are produced, all being equally important documents for the City to plan for infrastructure and services and to manage change at a local level.

LAPs are aligned to our Strategic Community Plan, Local Planning Strategy (our principal land-use planning document) and a range of other plans and strategies. This integrational approach received a commendation at the 2014 PIA (WA) Awards for Planning Excellence.

We continually strive for excellence and are proud of our other planning awards and commendations in the areas of Strategic Bushfire Risk Analysis Mapping, Heritage, and our Strategy for the Ageing Population.

Planning for the Future

With our attention focused on planning issues that are likely to affect us over the next 10 to 15 years, we have grouped our strategies and actions into ten themed areas of:

  1. Natural Resource Management and Environmental Protection
  2. Population and Housing
  3. Economy and Employment
  4. Activity Centres
  5. Tourism
  6. Open Spaces and Community Facilities
  7. Rural Land Uses Subdivision and Development
  8. Urban Design and Heritage
  9. Transport, Traffic and Access
  10.  Infrastructure Services

With a view to the future, the City of Swan is well placed to respond to the needs of its growing population, business and industry over the next few decades and we look forward to providing services, programs and infrastructure to the residents, visitors, businesses and investors who have chosen the largest local government in Perth to live, work and play.

 

Ellenbrook, City of Swan WA