Stage two – short listing
Sites were scored according to the quantifiable aspect of each criterion, and a multiplier applied according to the cost or degree of difficulty of achieving the criterion. The analysis identified the following sites as suitable for further assessment:
- Waterloo
- South Burekup
- Yalyalup
- South Gwindinup
Scott River and Manjimup scored lowest and were not considered further. Particular issues with these sites that resulted in their low scores were:
- Scott River – remoteness from most services and from regional towns, which will be the primary source of labour and business services.
- Manjimup industrial area – proximity to urban area containing a high number of sensitive land uses, and significant existing issues with the capacity of existing water supply in the town.
Stage three - detailed analysis
Detailed analysis for each of the short listed sites was undertaken, covering the following areas:
- land status – zoning, ownership, existing approvals
- infrastructure – electricity, gas, potable water
- communications – telephone and internet
- environment – ecology, water, soils and topography
- waste management – waste water and solid waste
- access to workforce – accessibility for labour force and maintenance labour
- transport linkages – distance to port, heavy vehicle routes, site access
- social impacts – noise, dust, sensitive land uses, buffers
- strategic potential – compatibility with strategic land use plans, potential for co-location with other industries, potential for staged expansion.
Order of magnitude costs for any required upgrades to infrastructure were prepared in consultation with service agencies.
A high level summary of each site follows.
South Gwindinup
This rural zoned site is adjacent to State Forest. It comprises seven lots and four owners. It is presently being mined by Iluka Resources Ltd for mineral sands, with leases current on the site until at least 2031.
Proposed land uses would be classified as ‘noxious industry’ in the Shire of Capel local planning scheme and are not permitted in the current zone, which means land would have to be rezoned if the site were selected for a food processing precinct.
This area does not feature in any strategic plans for the south-west region.
There are few sensitive land uses in proximity to the site, with only one dwelling identified within one kilometre of the site.
Due to mining activities, the site is largely cleared of native vegetation and there are no sensitive environmental or heritage features that would require protection.
The site is accessible to the heavy vehicle network from Cain Road, which is an RAV network road.
In terms of servicing, water supply could be the most difficult to achieve as there is no spare capacity in the nearest water supplies at Capel and Donnybrook. An alternative supplier would have to obtain approval through the Economic Regulation Authority to extract and distribute water from the underlying Yarragadee Aquifer, however the remoteness of the site and the slow customer take-up make it doubtful that an alternative supplier could be attracted to this location.
The site is relatively elevated, with regional groundwater mapping indicating depth to groundwater exceeding five metres.
The site is an irregular shape. If selected for a food processing precinct, the core area would be best positioned centrally, so that most of the potential buffer zones could be accommodated within the site and over the adjacent State Forest. Potential buffers would still extend beyond the site boundaries.
The site ranked third out of the four shortlisted sites, once the criteria were scored using the multi-criteria analysis.
Qualitatively, South Gwindinup is assessed as being high risk in terms of its ability to attract future industries and growth or viable servicing. This is primarily due to its relatively remote location. The site was assessed as low risk for social licence.