The City of Canning is located in Perth’s south-eastern suburbs, about 10 kilometres from the Perth CBD. Since 2017 council has approved and now commenced a regeneration program for the City, designed to equip it for the future, with increased housing, better infrastructure and enhanced transport links throughout the region.
The Canning City Centre has been identified as one of the Western Australian State Government’s ten Strategic Metropolitan Centres, key areas that will accommodate the required urban densities for Perth’s future growth.
The City of Canning is promoting Canning City Centre as the southern CBD of Perth – it is well connected via a network of regional transport routes with easy access to major road, rail, and air routes, and good connections to the WA Bicycle Network, it is becoming a thriving hub for residential, retail, and commercial activities in Cannington.
The Canning City Centre is planning and development ready, with an approved Activity Centre Plan that can accommodate up to 10,000 medium-density to high-density dwellings to house an increased population of up to 25,000. To facilitate its urban renewal, in 2017, the City of Canning launched its $76 million Regeneration Program to transform the area by investing in new infrastructure and upgrading existing assets to enhance the area’s appeal and functionality.
The regeneration program is a four-phased approach, over 20 years, to regenerate the entire Canning City Centre, with key components including:
- Connecting the Cannington train station to the river by creating a strong and safe pedestrian link through the City Centre
- Delivering greater vibrancy day and night by creating a Transit Orientated Development (TOD) near the train station and through the expansion of the Westfield Carousel shopping centre
- Providing greater housing diversity, employment and accessibility
- Building on the multicultural nature of the area to create a destination for the business and residential communities of Canning
To date, the City’s investment in creating a high-quality public realm and new infrastructure has resulted in $1.6 billion private sector investment, more than 1,110 jobs, 770 new residential units and a 67 per cent increase in visitation to the area.
There are several major projects that have been delivered under the regeneration program. These are the redevelopment of the Wharf Street Basin; the upgrade of Cecil Avenue; the conversion of an existing drain on Lake Street into an urban stream; and the extension of Lake Street, delivering a new connecting road from Cecil Avenue to Wharf Street and the Southern Link Road.
To date, City of Canning has invested significantly in these projects, as follows:
- Southern Link Road – Stage 2: $4,470,000
- Cecil Avenue West: $14,000,000
- Wharf Street Basin: $3,290,000
- Lake Street Urban Stream North: $1,085,000
- Lake Street Extension: $4,508,945
- Cecil Avenue East: $14,500,000
The program of urban infrastructure renewal is critical to meet the future demands for greater accessibility, and amenities that are required to improve the environmental and economic outlook for this expanding area.
Redevelopment begins
In 2018 and 2019, work began on two key projects: Cecil Avenue West and the Wharf Street Basin. Cecil Avenue was reconstructed in three parts, commencing at the southern end that adjoins the Albany Highway. The project has transformed Cecil Avenue West from a single-carriageway street into a median-divided street with dedicated bus lanes and a high-quality streetscape. The street is now equipped with smart pole technology to accommodate several smart features as the community’s needs grow, including the ability to have traffic monitoring systems, CCTV, environmental monitoring, free high-speed Wi-Fi, and energy-efficient LED lighting.
The City has created a high-quality urban streetscape, with wirelessly controllable feature lighting and indigenous- inspired sculptural art elements affixed to the median poles, with wide landscape nodes, creating a much-improved pedestrian-friendly environment. The City has planted 100 new trees to promote biodiversity, increased canopy cover for shade, and improved pedestrian access to bus stops along dedicated bus lanes. It is one of the first smart streets in Perth and has redefined how people use and perceive this part of Cannington.
The Wharf Street Basin was previously a fenced-off Water Corporation drainage basin, hidden from the public for 60 years. The City was awarded a Federal Smart Cities grant of $1.09 million to deliver a new Smart Park for the community of Cannington. This was a pilot project for water-sensitive infrastructure and technology.
The resulting Wharf Street Basin Next Generation Community Park saw the transformation of an inaccessible stormwater basin into a much-loved community smart park.
The City of Canning and its funding partners – the Australian Government’s Smart Cities and Suburbs Program, Water Corporation and the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation – used landscape design and technology solutions to create a recreational space that also incorporates a new approach to stormwater management.
The park is now a place where nature and technology unite. It’s a green space for people to relax, a habitat for wildlife, and an educational space to learn more about water.
This highly awarded park project is a Western Australia first, and it’s an innovative example of transforming a stormwater basin – which there are hundreds of in Perth – into a multi-purpose space that benefits the environment and community. Being the first of its kind, the park has seen multiple visits by university students and industry professionals and has set a new benchmark for management of stormwater in an urban setting.
Continued works
In 2021, work began on Cecil Avenue East, which extends from Sevenoaks Street to beyond Lake Street. The project has transformed Cecil Avenue East from a single- carriageway street into a median-divided street with dedicated bus lanes and a high-quality streetscape.
Delivering a rejuvenated Cecil Avenue creates a new entry gateway from Sevenoaks Street and Canning Station into the heart of the City and a new hub for Cannington. The upgraded road is critical to meet the additional transport demands predicted for the expanding area, not only in population growth but also in expected infrastructure development.
To increase public open space in the Canning City Centre, the next project was converting Water Corporation’s existing drain on Lake Street Cannington into an urban stream.
The Lake Street Urban Stream is a key entry into the heart of the city; and the design of this project was critical to the future success of the City Centre development.
The completed Lake Street Urban Stream retains existing greenery including trees and pockets of native reeds, while also adding new native trees, shrubs, and plants to increase vibrancy and wildlife. It also features a boardwalk, lookout and exposed aggregate concrete path to provide a connection to the local train station and surrounding shops.
This phase of works also included the Lake Street Extension project, which delivered a new connecting road from Cecil Avenue to Wharf Street. The new road provides a direct link between Cannington Leisureplex and Cecil Avenue, promotes the viability and accessibility of the Leisureplex, and provides direct access from the Leisureplex to the heart of the city centre and Carousel shopping centre.
Importantly, this was the first City Centre project to be delivered and project managed largely by the City’s own operational and technical teams.
Industry recognition
The work in redeveloping the City of Canning has not gone unnoticed, with the council recently taking out three awards at the recent Institute of Public Works Engineers Australasia (IPWEA) WA 2024 awards.
The Lake Street Urban Stream won in two categories: Best Public Works Project Under $2m (Metro) and Excellence in Water Projects. Additionally, the Lake Street Extension project won the Best Public Works Project $2m – $5m (Metro) award. Additionally, the City was recognised as a finalist for the Best Public Works Project over $5m (Metro) for the Cecil Avenue East project and was also named as a finalist in the Excellence in Environment and Sustainability category for the Lake Street Extension and Excellence in Road Safety Projects for its Road Safety Management Plan.
City of Canning Mayor Patrick Hall expressed his pride in the City’s Major Projects and Infrastructure and Environment teams, applauding their dedication to promoting and enhancing Canning’s roads, infrastructure, and environment.
“It’s pleasing to see our Major Projects and Infrastructure and Environment teams coming together to deliver a variety of great projects, catering to the growth of our City,” said Mayor Hall.
“The City of Canning continues to be a welcoming and thriving City thanks to our innovative approach to the development of our community infrastructure.”
The City through its work in the regeneration space has become a nationally recognised leader in the delivery of Blue/Green infrastructure with our practitioners requested to attend and present at both state and national conferences on the Regeneration Program and the delivery of our new community parks, roads, and urban streams.
Featured image: The redeveloped Wharf Street Basin. Image credit: The City of Canning.
