Midland Local Area
The Midland local area includes the suburbs of Koongamia, Midland, Viveash and Woodbridge, the southern part of Middle Swan, and parts of Midvale and Bellevue.
Located 20 kilometres north east of the Perth CBD, it is the gateway to regional Western Australia with the Great Eastern Highway, Great Northern Highway and the Midland passenger and freight rail lines all leading into Midland. The catchment area for Midland extends far beyond the City of Swan's boundaries and includes the Perth Hills, Chittering, Gingin, the Wheatbelt and the Avon Valley, all contributing to the large customer catchment and employee base. The area is an established mixed-use area and includes industrial, commercial and residential land uses.
Settlement of the area dates from 1829 when the first land grant was made. The township of Midland grew around the railway station, quickly becoming the commercial and administrative centre of the City of Swan. Significant development occurred primarily in the post-war years, aided by construction of public housing in Koongamia in the 1950s and the development of Viveash in the 1960s.
The Midland local area includes the Midland Redevelopment Area, a 256 hectare area of land assigned for mixed-use development including housing and apartments, cafes, restaurants and retail shops. The redevelopment project is expected to inject more than $1.2 billion into the local economy over the next 20 years and create around 7,500 jobs. Major facilities include the State's largest police complex with a communications centre, forensics and traffic operations, a GP Super Clinic and a new 300+ bed hospital which opened its doors to patients in November, 2015.
At the time of the 2016 Census, the Midland local area had a population of approximately 13,000 persons and more than 6,500 dwellings. More than 20% of the population are aged less than 20 years, 51% are aged between 20 and 54 years of age, 27% are aged over 55 and of those, 11% are 70 years of age or more.
Nearly 60% of residents in the Midland local area are Australian born, 30% were born overseas and of those, 17% come from non-English speaking backgrounds. After English, the most common languages spoken at home are Filipino/Tagalog, Italian and Malayalam.
Approximately 54% of homes in the Midland local area are family households of which 34% are households with children. Almost 50% of homes are owned outright or with a mortgage and 33% of homes are privately rented.
The Midland Local Area Plan was endorsed by Council on December 3, 2014.