Long-awaited plans to transform Yanchep from a sleepy coastal hamlet into a regional city were poised to clear a significant planning hurdle last night at a Wanneroo City Council meeting.
Wanneroo mayor Jon Kelly said the Yanchep City Structure Plan, by joint venture partners Tokyu Corporation and New Orion Investments, was expected to be released for public comment, in a vote of confidence for the ambitious proposal.
The joint-venture partners, trading as Yanchep Beach, want to build up to 8500 dwellings on largely undeveloped land in an area that covers 612ha between Yanchep Beach Road, the Mitchell Freeway Reserve and an extended Marmion Avenue.
The project would include mixed residential, commercial, retail, entertainment and hospitality space as well as education and health facilities.
Together with similarly ambitious plans for nearby Two Rocks, Yanchep City will be the northern anchor for the metropolitan area and be home to about 150,000 people.
Although no thorough cost estimates had been brought forward, the project would transform the northern corridor of Perth and turn Yanchep into a "modern metropolis".
"Everybody understands that Yanchep is a big project and a big-ideas project," Mr Kelly said.
"Within this particular structure plan, it actually has the largest identified metropolitan centre outside the CBD."
Mr Kelly said that once planning approvals were met the biggest challenge would be in securing the necessary infrastructure and resources to make the project feasible.
He said good public transport and public amenities were vital to ensure that "dormant" suburbs were not built and the new city would be sustainable.
Commercial property developers and prospective industries were already showing an interest but the State Government would also need to come on board.
"It will require a significant amount of public investment from the State Government," he said.
"The infrastructure needs to be provided in a timely sense - ideally ahead of the population growth.
"That's important in terms of the economic development.
"But also the planning has to take into consideration the social needs and economic needs in terms of the local employment generation - I think that's very important to a project."
Mr Kelly said no industries had yet committed to the project but several were expected to show a keen interest.
These included tourism, which would be likely to take advantage of Yanchep's pristine coastline and neighbouring national park and alternative energy developments such as wave power generation.
An aquaculture park tipped to be built in the area is also expected to generate significant employment, while the proponents have been in discussions with universities over possible developments.
The Yanchep City proposal is the latest incarnation of an idea that was originally touted by Alan Bond more than 30 years ago.
It passed a milestone this year when the overarching District Structure Plan for the region - encompassing Yanchep and Two Rocks - was approved at a local government level.
The decision paved the way for the council to approve further development in the northern corridor.
Mr Kelly said there were mixed feelings in Yanchep about the proposal "but understanding and acceptance that things are going to change".
He said early works for the project would probably start within five years and Yanchep would be "hardly recognisable" within 20 years.
"There is a mixed view within the community," he said.
"There certainly are those that would like it to stay as it is, there are certainly those who are looking forward to the progress ... and wished things could have happened up there faster."
