Location of the Peel Food Zone investigation area
Under the Transform Peel program, the Peel Food Zone investigation area initially covered about 28 000 hectares and was located ten kilometres (km) east of Mandurah and about 70km south of Perth. This area was chosen for its agricultural production potential, proximity to population centres to supply the anticipated workforce and access to infrastructure for logistics and communication purposes.
During the consultation process for the GHD study, the Peel Food Zone investigation area was extended:
- East to include the high quality, more fertile soils along the foot slopes of the Darling Range
- North to include established agriculture and food enterprises including poultry farms.
The southern and western boundaries were also revised on advice from stakeholders including local governments.
The change to the boundary increased to total investigation area by 50% to 42 000ha in the Shires of Murray and Serpentine-Jarrahdale.
The majority of the Peel region's population live in Mandurah, west of the Peel Food Zone investigation area. The town of Pinjarra is the region’s next most populous centre and is located southeast of the investigation area. The township of Serpentine is located in the northeast and North Dandalup in the southeast of the investigation area.