Big plans to transform Midland
Plans for up to 8000 new homes and 270,000sqm of office and retail space in Mid-land will be unveiled today.
Midland Oval will become a high-density housing hub and town centre with up to 1000 new homes, 90,000sqm of commercial space and a new library and piazza under the City of Swan's ambitions for the 11ha site it calls the Mid-land Oval precinct.
At the same time, the State's urban planning authority will take the wrappers off its Midland master plan, which will include a relocated train and bus station and scope for nearly 7000 new homes and 155,000sqm of office and retail space.
The separate but complementary plans form two planks in a long-running strategy to give Midland a facelift. Last week, the State and Federal governments unveiled another: the contentious Midland medical school.
Collectively, they represent an attempt to capitalise on what is perceived to be Midland's potential as a commercial and residential centre.
The future of Midland and the wider region will come under scrutiny today at a maiden economic conference in the Swan Valley, which will be attended by Premier Colin Barnett, head of St John of God Midland Public Hospital Glen Power, Perth Airport chief executive Brad Geatches and Metropolitan Redevelopment Authority chairman Richard Muirhead, among others.
Planning Minister John Day said Midland was a strategic metropolitan centre servicing the north-eastern corridor, Perth Hills and rural Wheatbelt communities.
He said the Metropolitan Redevelopment Authority's master plan would help the north-east subregion lay the groundwork for an expected 100,000 new homes and jobs needed by 2050.
Swan mayor Charlie Zannino said the city's plan, which is still subject to approvals, would earmark about 13 per cent of the precinct for open space.
"It will bring together all the pieces of the puzzle to ensure that Midland can enjoy a strong centre for business and lifestyle and project a strong sense of place," he said.
