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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.
To establish 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 worked with a large Steering Committee representing a wide range of community stakeholders and government agencies to prepare an overall plan that will secure a more balanced, sustainable future for Port Hedland.
With strong community support, the Land Use Master Plan was adopted by Council and endorsed by the WA Planning Commission in mid-2008, and a series of priority projects are already being implemented, including revitalization of the town centre and extensive residential development in South Hedland, development of a new tourism complex on the coast, improvements to the highway connecting Port and South Hedland, and several walkway and public open space improvement initiatives.
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