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The seven key projects in Town of Port Hedland’s ambitious development plan to revive the Pilbara community

Port Hedland is set to undergo a large-scale infrastructure facelift as the Town “pulls down” ageing infrastructure and shakes off the “patch-it-up” mentality which has left residents decrying the sorry state of facilities in the wealthy port town. The bold development agenda comes as the Town of Port Hedland concedes it will not reach the ambitious 2035 population target of 50,000, set out in the former Liberal-National government’s Royalties for Regions blueprint, Pilbara Cities, in 2013. An infrastructure plan first conceived in 2017 and fast-tracked by Commissioner Fred Riebeling will see substantial development of the JD Hardie Youth and Community Hub, the South Hedland Integrated Sporting Hub, and the McGregor Street Sports Precinct. Part of the five-year development agenda will also include the building of a walkway from Cooke Point to Pretty Pool, the construction of a sea wall to help combat coastal erosion, a revamp of Finucane boat ramp, and a redevelopment of the South Hedland skate park. The council has set aside $76 million to fund some of the development, but funding will need to be sought at State and Federal levels to ensure all projects reach completion. Mayor Peter Carter said the infrastructure spend would create a more liveable city and address shortfalls in services. He said the projects needed to be built as soon as possible. “For years and years and years all we have done is patch the town, patch the town, and I’m sick of it,” Mr Carter said. “We patch things up and it comes back to bite us again, and again, and again. A lot of our services, a lot of our infrastructure, it is old, it is tired, and it needs to be replaced. “I don’t want to keep patching it up. “We need to pull it down and have new smart infrastructure. The people that live here, they love our town but our services and infrastructure is letting us down badly.” Mr Carter said the projects would improve the lives of people in Port and South Hedland and would help address some service gaps. One notable gap set to be addressed by the swathe of construction is a lack of childcare services. The two facilities are expected to add at least 150 new childcare places, but the problem of finding skilled workers to staff the centres remains. Mr Carter said that was why the growth of Hedland had to start from education. “It all starts right at the core of the growth of a town — the first thing is child care, primary school, high school, university, all the way through. That is what makes a town great, and that is how you grow a town,” he said. “If we want to have people, we need not a first-class service but a world-class service, and why not? “Our town deserves this stuff.” The Pilbara Cities plan aimed to grow Port Hedland’s population to 50,000 by 2035. Now the council is predicting a more modest population target of 27,000 by 2041 — up from about 15,000 today. Mr Carter said in five years he hoped to have at least another 5000 people living in Hedland. He said the council’s infrastructure plan would play a part in retaining residents. “I hope it is higher, I would love to see it higher,” he said. “You bring smart infrastructure to this town and new infrastructure and people are going to enjoy this infrastructure — why would they leave?” While some of the council’s infrastructure plans have been born out of a vision for a more liveable Hedland, others have been born out of necessity or past design flaws. The construction of a shade structure at the South Hedland Skate Park will aim to make the facility useable all day instead of just at night. The construction of sea walls will help address coastal erosion. Sea walls were the most expensive option presented to the council after a report from the Coastal Hazard Management and Adaption Plan found assets were under threat. Retreating or doing nothing were the other two options, which were considered untenable by the council. With a bold and expansive infrastructure agenda comes the need for a bold funding model. The $76m already committed by the council is less than half the $200.9m estimated cost of the proposed developments. That is on top of the $121.5m Spoilbank Marina project, which the council is partnering with the State Government to complete. The State Government promised $10m in funding for the PHISH project before the election but Mr Carter promised to approach both the State and Federal Governments for help funding the other projects. Mr Carter said it was time both levels of government looked to Port Hedland and helped it achieve its goals. “T “They’ve left us out in the cold they really have. I am going to be banging on Canberra’s door with a big tin and say ‘guys you need to support our town’,” Mr Carter said. “This town supports the whole of Australia, State Government and Federal Government and they need to start putting back in.”

The West Australian exclusiveThe seven key projects in Town of Port Hedland’s ambitious development plan to revive the Pilbara community

exclusive
The seven key projects in Town of Port Hedland’s ambitious development plan to revive the Pilbara community