All aboard Perth’s METRONET

Broadening the scope of METRONET will ensure the $2 billion infrastructure project delivers housing diversity and meets Perth’s infill targets, finds a new report from Urbis and the Property Council.

METRONET is the long-term blueprint to connect Perth’s suburbs, reduce road congestion and meet the city’s future planning needs.

The federal government has committed $1 billion to the infrastructure project – roughly half the total cost. This includes the much-anticipated Ellenbrook line.

The WA Government has been clear: METRONET is as much about creating jobs and transforming land-use planning as it is about transport.

According to Lino Iacomella, the Property Council’s executive director in WA, METRONET offers a “terrific opportunity” to transform Perth and deliver infill and housing diversity “in an orderly manner and in a form that the community will accept”.

METRONET station precincts: An industry perspective on making them happen, investigates urban development around train stations, often referred to as ‘station precincts’.

While METRONET will develop numerous new station precincts, several stations in the existing network could also be transformed – although the number will be restricted by public funding and private investment capacity.

Iacomella says the report underscores that “those areas which offer the greatest potential for density are often the most resistant to change”.

The report makes five key recommendations:

1. Extend METRONET’s scope and identify key short-term development opportunities.
2. Support a new precinct planning governance framework.
3. Create a framework for transitional uses, such as affordable housing, build to rent, leasehold or light weight construction.
4. Develop a demonstration project that shows how suburban station precincts can be transformed.
5. Forge partnerships with the private sector to provide infrastructure, amenity, mixed use, residential and employment opportunities.

Iacomella says the promised Perth City Deal will support the infrastructure project, but “the report identifies inconsistent local planning rules as a major threat to METRONET”.

“We are calling for a new state government-led precinct planning system to provide the community and industry with a fair and consistent process for managing the local planning process,” Iacomella concludes.

Download METRONET station precincts: An industry perspective on making them happen.