Situated to the west of the Swan Valley is the 1,100 hectare Urban Growth Corridor (UGC) which is designated as a primary residential growth area in the City of Swan.
The UGC is located approximately 20kms north east of the Perth CBD and 7kms north west of the Midland Strategic Metropolitan Centre. It stretches approximately 8kms from Ellenbrook in the north to Caversham in the south and is bounded by Whiteman Park to the west and the Swan Valley to the east. It presents as four distinct suburbs: Brabham in the north; Bennett Springs north of Reid Highway and west of Lord Street; Dayton to the south of Brabham and north of Reid Highway; and Caversham, south of the Reid Highway. Each of these suburbs are the subject of closer investigation and planning in the form of District and Local Structure Plans as required for consideration at appropriate scale.
Settlement of the area dates from the 1830s with land used mainly for grazing. The population increased slightly during the 1990s and then declined between 2001 and 2006 as a result of little change in dwelling stock.
At the 2011 Census, there were 192 dwellings and a total of 450 persons residing in the UGC but just five years later, the 2016 Census counted 8,829 persons and 3,474 dwellings. This rapid rate of population growth and development will continue for some time and by 2036, our population forecasts indicate a population of almost 32,000 persons and 12,000 dwellings.
Almost 30 per cent of the population is less than 20 years of age and of those, 20 per cent are less than 10 years old. Persons aged from 25 to 39 comprise 40 per cent of the population, less than 10 per cent are aged 55 or more and of these, less than 2 per cent are 70 or more. Approximately 50 per cent of residents were born in Australia and 45 per cent were born overseas, 33 per cent of these coming from non-English speaking backgrounds. After English, the most common languages spoken in the UGC local area are Punjabi, Tagalog and Gujarati.
Approximately 80 per cent of homes in the UGC local area are family households and 48 per cent of these are households with children. Almost 80 per cent of homes are owned outright or owned with a mortgage and 14 per cent are privately rented.
Development of the UGC Local Area Plan (LAP) has involved local community members working together with the City to identify specific issues affecting their community. Community members and stakeholders were invited to contribute to the development of the LAP through a series of community workshops, surveys and online consultations. All submissions received were considered in the formulation of strategies and actions to implement the UGC’s vision and ensure that local needs and aspirations are met. This LAP is therefore an important document for the City to plan for infrastructure and services, and manage change at the local level.