Huge Wanju development in South West given State Government approval under Greater Bunbury Region Scheme

A South West mega-development, touted as the region’s next city, has been given the tick of approval from the State Government, it was revealed on Thursday. Wanju, a Shire of Dardanup development, is set to house 60,000 people in 20,000 homes and will be built with a focus on timber construction and light-weight materials. The State Government has approved rezoning of vacant land in the north-west region of the Shire of Dardanup under the Greater Bunbury Region Scheme which is the latest green light for the project. Shire president Mick Bennett said the project, which forms part of its 2050 Vision document, will set the standard for modern housing developments and be “very, very different” to subdivisions like Millbridge. “Another 60,000 people over a period of time in our region is fantastic for our region and our Shire,” he said. “We have looked at it in different ways and in more modern ways of building and creating neighbourhoods. “It will be very, very different to what is standardised now — everything should be different because probably by the time we get to construction it will be 2024, so you’re halfway to 2030, and by then we should be building something really modern.” “It is a full-blown city. It is not an extension of Eaton or Millbridge — it’s on its own, it’s Wanju.” The final approval step for Wanju will be the WA Planning Commission signing off on the plans. Last year, a contract worth $500,000 was awarded to create a developer contribution plan for the project, which will provide further detail and be presented to the commission for approval. The plans will also provide an outlook for the nearby Waterloo Industrial Park, touted to be built near the tiny diary farming town with the same name. “Wanju” , which is the Noongar language word for “welcome”, will be among the first developments in the State to start with an indigenous name, something Mr Bennett said was of significance to the council. “We went for an Aboriginal name to start the process and this will be one of the few, if not the first, in Western Australia to start with an Aboriginal name,” he said. “We wanted to have that point of difference from day one. “We had a lot of Aboriginal involvement in the farming here in the early days.” The Shire is now working to find a suitable developer for the project.