The City of Swan serves the needs of a diverse population that lives and works across a large land area. We strive to get a greater level of community participation in decision-making processes that affect the future of our local area. Place planning' is a planning process that is unique to the City of Swan; it is innovative, forward-thinking and community-oriented planning.
The Place Planning process involves community members working together with local government officials to produce a Plan that provides solutions to meet the specific needs of their local area. The Place Planning process also allows city staff to translate broad state government strategies and policies into local action. Through the Place Planning process we aim to continue to build relationships between local community members, community organisations, government agencies and the business community, to improve our understanding of the issues facing our local communities and together find solutions sustainable viable.
Place Plans
The City of Swan covers a large area and serves the needs of a diverse population. The City divides this large area into 13 smaller areas or "places" to identify and address the specific needs of our diverse communities. We also believe that our unique Place approach will give communities the opportunity to work with the City to collaborate and create solutions for their local area.
A location plan is a working document resulting from the location planning process, which guides the City of Swan's service delivery to a specific area. An increase in local community understanding of the City's planning and service delivery constraints and opportunities;. The Place Plan is developed using information gathered from the community engagement process, which is integrated into the City's business planning for use by City staff.
The plan is a public document available in hard copy or electronically (see the city's website or contact Place Planning staff. The actions are then delegated to the appropriate units within the city and listed on their work plan for the relevant financial year.
Bullsbrook Place and its People
Protection of sacred, archaeological and historic sites is of great importance in Bullsbrook Place. Bullsbrook Place is one of the largest Place areas in the City of Swan, covering an approximate area of 290 square kilometres, which is about 5.5% of the Perth Metropolitan area. The Place area, consisting of two localities, Bullsbrook and Upper Swan, is bordered to the north by the municipal boundaries of the Shire of Chittering and the Shire of Toodyay.
The Great Northern Highway runs north through the Bullsbrook Place area, connecting the Perth Metropolitan area to the northern regions of the state. Bullsbrook Place's age structure is predicted to change over the next ten years with a significant increase in residents aged 60 and over, as shown at right. The majority of residents use a car (66.9%) to travel to work; 6.4% work from home, which is almost double the percentage of people working from home in the City (3.4%) and the Perth Metropolitan Area (3.5%).
It is also worth noting that 6.9% of residents walk or cycle to work compared to just 2.4% in the City of Swan and 3.2% in the Perth metropolitan area.x. In Bullsbrook Place, the percentage of households (29.5%) with 3 or more motor vehicles is significantly higher than in the City of Swan (19.3%) and the Perth metropolitan area (16.4%).
Putting the Bullsbrook Place Plan Together
The boundaries are the Swan River to the south, Ellenbrook and The Vines to the west and rural areas towards Walyunga National Park to the east. The West Bullsbrook area is bounded by the Great Northern Motorway to the east (but excludes the RAAF air base). The area is bounded on the west by the state forest and on the north by the northern boundary of the Town of Swan.
It is mostly rural land bordering state forest to the west, terrapin protected habitat to the east and Ellenbrook to the south. These factors contributed to the decision for the City of Swan to develop a site plan for the Bullsbrook area. The Bullsbrook Place site plan is divided into four zones for reference purposes due to the size of the site and marked differences in land use and topography.
The site is bounded by the RAAF air base to the west and runs parallel to Rutland Road to the north. In the south, the area is bounded by the Lage road, while the eastern border mostly follows the escarpment that surrounds the city. The East Bullsbrook area is bounded by the Great Northern Highway and the town of Bullsbrook to the west.
The district is bounded on the east by Walyunga and Avon Valley National Parks; the northern boundary is the city's municipal boundary. To the south, the district is north of Walyunga Road (the Upper Swan district). The central challenge for the Place Planning process is to understand the current issues and opportunities for the Bullsbrook Place and, based on this, identify priority objectives and actions that will help deliver sustainable solutions.
This information has helped the City of Swan and others to gain an understanding of the problems and opportunities for the site. The site planning process recognizes a variation in issues across different areas within the site area. Data and information are therefore presented for the site as a whole and more specifically for the areas where it is relevant.
Community Consultation
For spatial planning to be successful, the community and key stakeholders must be involved in the planning process and the development and implementation of the spatial plan. Community and stakeholder input was gathered during the community consultation, which informed the vision and priorities for improving the future of Bullsbrook. These are explained in more detail in the May 2007 Bullsbrook Place Plan—Community Consultation Report available on Council's website.
Initial telephone contact was made with 73 community organizations to gain a sense of initial interest, issues and opportunities. These included members from Bullsbrook Chamber of Commerce, Bullsbrook High School, Bushfire Volunteer Brigade, Bullsbrook Community and Sports Association, Swan City Church, Bullsbrook Children's Health Centre, Earth First, Advance Bullsbrook and Pearce Airbase. The reference group helped plan the timing of the community consultation period and provided valuable feedback on the design of the workshop.
Each of the two workshops was attended by more than 100 community members and key stakeholders representing a broad cross-section of interests. A full report on the results of the community consultation process is available on the City's website.xv. Based on the outcomes of the workshop, a range of issues, opportunities and priorities were explored in internal City of Swan workshops involving managers and relevant staff.
In order to prioritize the objectives, internal and external consultations were assessed against the strategic and corporate responsibilities of the city. A draft site plan was then prepared, reviewed by council and put out for public comment in March 2008. The results were analysed, the draft revised and the site plan was then formally adopted by council in September 2008.
The goals and associated measures, which are described in section five below, must be revised annually in consultation with society. The review process will identify whether the plan is meeting its goals and responding to changes in community needs.
Priority Objectives and Actions
- Social Environment
- Economic Environment
- Natural Environment
- Developed Environment
It is important that the spiritual, historical and environmental aspects of the area are protected. Some older community members require access to health services outside of the Bullsbrook area and face difficulties in traveling the necessary distances. City of Swan — Community Safety, Community Development, Community Services, Library Services, Leisure Services Health Department Non-Profit Health Service Providers.
The city will eventually be bypassed with the construction of the Perth to Darwin National Highway. WA Police Departments City of Swan — Community Safety, Development Services, Asset Management and Community Development Road Safety Council Main Roads WA. City of Swan — Place planning, community safety, leisure services, library services and community development Transfield.
The municipality indicates that there is a lack of sports and recreational facilities in the vicinity of the city center. The risk of wildfires within the Place area is significant due to the extensive coverage of remnant vegetation and the area's topographical features. Actively manage the weed invasion of reserves under the fortress or management of the town of Swan.
Department of Agriculture Town of Svanen — Community Planning, Development Services, Asset Management Community Members Landowners. Priority objectives Priority actions for 2008/09 Who should be involved in doing it PO-14: Conserve the environment in. Ensure that relevant operators are aware of the environmentally sensitive nature of the Twin Swamps when upgrading roads and infrastructure in the area.
The Bullsbrook area includes a major tributary to the Swan River system in the form of the Ellen Brook. The City of Swan is a member of the Ellen Brook/Brockman Integrated Catchment Group (EBICG) and contributes financially through the City's grants program. Monitoring continues of the progress of the Ellen Brook and Brockman River by EBICG and the Department of Environment and Conservation.
Department of Environment and Conservation City of Swan — Strategic Planning, Statutory Planning and Asset Management Department of Water Swan River Trust WA Planning Commission Landowners. The community generally supports the provision of land south of the existing Bullsbrook town site and on the west side of the Great Northern Highway, provided a heavy shrub buffer is planted for visual amenity. Enhance the access statement(s) and streetscape to enhance the attractiveness of Bullsbrook town center and improve readability.
Plan to improve the safety and quality of roads, parking areas and street planning.
