TOWN OF PORT HEDLAND
Land Use Master Plan

Port Hedland was established in the 1890s to serve the pastoral industry of the Pilbara region of Western Australia. Seventy years later it was transformed into the gateway to iron ore and the other mining exports of the region, making it the busiest port in Australia. The town's development in converting a pastoral service into a heavy industrial port has been accompanied by difficulties such as land use conflicts, adverse environmental impacts and significant demands on an infrastructure that was built for a different type and scale of industry. Extensive flood plains have also constrained development throughout the area and the town of Port Hedland has grown in a physically fragmented way. To ensure more cohesive growth and sustainability of the region, Port Hedland needs to develop a long term strategy for improving the quality of life of existing residents and attracting and retaining more skilled workers in order to promote additional growth and economic diversification.

The Department for Planning and Infrastructure undertook initial steps for such a planning process in 2004 through an Inquiry By Design workshop, which, by engaging 150 community members and 30 technical experts in the discussion and sharing of ideas, established a basic framework of goals and development principals for the future of the four sections of the town: the Town Centre, Cooke Point/Pretty Pool, South Hedland and Wedgefield. The UDC has now been engaged to build on the conclusions of this workshop to produce a Land Use Master Plan, providing greater detail as to the proposed form and design character of future development and guidelines for the implementation of initial projects.