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| Metropolitan Region Scheme | |
|---|---|
| Name | Metropolitan Region Scheme |
| Jurisdiction | Western Australia |
| Formed | 1963 |
| Agency type | land-use planning scheme |
Metropolitan Region Scheme
The Metropolitan Region Scheme is the statutory land-use planning instrument for the Perth and Fremantle metropolitan area in Western Australia, originally prepared under the direction of the Stephenson-Hepburn Report and enacted through the Metropolitan Region Planning Authority framework in the 1960s; it establishes regional reservations, transport corridors, and urban land uses across the Perth CBD, Fremantle Harbour, and surrounding suburbs. The scheme operates alongside instruments such as the Town Planning and Development Act 1928 (WA), the Planning and Development Act 2005 (WA), and regional strategies produced by the WA Planning Commission, shaping major projects like the Mitchell Freeway, the Roe Highway, and the Perth Airport precinct.
The scheme's origins trace to post‑war initiatives including the Stephenson-Hepburn Report and the establishment of the Metropolitan Region Planning Authority; these responses followed planning precedents set in Garden City movement-influenced suburban developments and international models such as the Greater London Plan 1944 and the Plan for the Metropolitan Region (Melbourne). Early implementation involved coordination with the City of Perth, the Shire of Melville, and the Town of Victoria Park to reserve corridors for infrastructure such as the Perth–Fremantle railway and the Tonkin Highway. Subsequent decades saw major interactions with federal projects like the National Capital Development Commission-era works and state initiatives including the Metropolitan Redevelopment Authority’s urban renewal programs.
Statutory authority rests with the Planning and Development Act 2005 (WA), administered by the Western Australian Planning Commission and operationalised through the Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage (Western Australia). Approval mechanisms require coordination between local governments such as the City of Stirling, the City of Joondalup, and the Town of Cambridge and state ministers including the Minister for Planning (Western Australia). Legal disputes have engaged tribunals such as the State Administrative Tribunal (Western Australia) and courts including the Supreme Court of Western Australia over compensation, heritage overlays tied to the Heritage Council of Western Australia, and native title considerations involving claimants represented through processes established by the Native Title Act 1993.
The scheme establishes reservations and zones for land uses including regional parks like the Kings Park, transport corridors such as those for the Joondalup railway line and the Mandurah railway line, industrial zones near the Kwinana Industrial Area, and strategic urban growth areas including precincts within Armadale, Balcatta, and Rockingham. It delineates public works reservations for utilities managed by agencies like Horizon Power and the Public Transport Authority, sets aside foreshore areas adjacent to the Swan River (Western Australia), and maps environmental protections linked to the Swan Coastal Plain and the Beeliar Wetlands. Zoning instruments interface with local planning schemes framed by councils such as City of Rockingham and City of Canning.
Amendments are processed through statutory amendment notices adopted by the Western Australian Planning Commission and registered with the Parliament of Western Australia; notable alterations include corridor realignments for the Kwinana Freeway and rezoning for the Northbridge cultural precinct overseen in part by the Metropolitan Redevelopment Authority. Implementation has required infrastructure delivery by agencies like the Main Roads Western Australia and project partnerships with private developers including entities involved in the Elizabeth Quay redevelopment and the Burswood Peninsula (now Optus Stadium) precinct. Environmental approvals have intersected with assessments by the Environmental Protection Authority (Western Australia).
Supporters credit the scheme with enabling coordinated delivery of transport projects such as the Roe Highway extensions, facilitating growth in suburbs served by the Perth to Mandurah rail link, and protecting green wedges including the Perth Hills. Critics argue the scheme entrenched car-oriented corridors exemplified by the Mitchell Freeway expansions, contributed to urban sprawl into the Swan Coastal Plain, and produced contentious acquisitions near industrial hubs like Kwinana. Heritage advocates referencing the Fremantle Port precinct and indigenous groups citing sites in the Jandakot area have contested specific reservations, while conservationists engaged with the Conservation Council of Western Australia have challenged rezoning that affects remnant vegetation.
Major outcomes tied to the scheme include the coordinated provision of the Perth Airport precinct, the establishment of the Perth CBD rail spine culminating in the Perth Underground project, redevelopment initiatives such as Elizabeth Quay, the creation of regional open space networks including the Regional Open Space strategy around Yanchep National Park, and transport infrastructure like the Tonkin Highway interchange upgrades. Urban renewal projects in Northbridge and the Burswood Peninsula illustrate how rezonings facilitated by the scheme enabled mixed‑use projects, while contested proposals such as the Eastlink-style corridor options and the staged delivery of the Roe 8 extension prompted political debate involving the Government of Western Australia and community groups like the WA Council of Social Service.