Port Hedland: Shaping a Cosmopolitan Port City by FORM WA

Port Hedland â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;has a unique blend - ancient and new; beauty and isolation; industry and other business; people from so many places and cultures; not too big that you get lost but not so small that you arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t welcomed; talents and a surprising breadth of people having a go.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; Community Member

CONTENTS Foreword

Introduction

Why Are We Doing This?

A Map Of Guiding Principles

A City For The People, By The People

What Kind Of Place Should Our Future Port Hedland Be?

The Pathway Ahead

First Steps

What Can You Do?

Thank You

References

Contact

Photo by Nicole Butler, 2008

FOREWORD Growth planning will be a significant step forward for our Council as it strives to achieve the State Government’s Pilbara Cities vision of a nationally significant regional city of 50,000 by 2035. Council’s vision for Pilbara’s Port City is that we will boast attractive and vibrant CBD areas with public open spaces, cafes, restaurants, boutiques, offices and residential dwellings. Our Spoilbank Marina will be the highlight of our rugged and picturesque coastline – the marina will include the world’s best entertainment, recreation and tourist facilities including boat pens, boardwalk with cafes, fishing and bait stores as well as areas for parks, public swimming and environmental interpretative opportunities. We want Port Hedland to transform from an important export hub to a regional City which plays a significant economic role on a national level. To this end, we have worked with lead consultants RPS to develop the Pilbara’s Port City Growth Plan, which we will follow with a clear Implementation Plan. However, it is equally vital that our community shares in the vision and growth agenda. This

document, Port Hedland: Shaping a Cosmopolitan Port City, has been developed with the assistance of FORM as a complement to the Pilbara’s Port City Growth Plan to articulate the community vision and ensure we all have an accessible plan to work from. These documents will provide all key stakeholders, including the Town, with a reference tool when planning and making decisions about projects, strategies and initiatives to ensure we are all achieving the same outcomes and objectives and ‘speaking the same language’. I would like to thank everyone who has been involved in the development and preparation of the Pilbara’s Port City Growth Plan and this document, Port Hedland: Shaping a Cosmopolitan Port City. Together we will achieve the transformation of Port Hedland into the Pilbara’s cosmopolitan port city. Kelly Howlett Mayor Town of Port Hedland

Photo by Bill Shaylor, 2008

INTRODUCTION It is an exciting time in Port Hedlandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s development. As a small port town in Western Australiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s beautiful North West, Port Hedland is disproportionately driving the economy of the nation. And as the town continues to prosper it sits on the cusp of enormous, rapid growth. 4

To best prepare for this exciting growth and the challenges that come with it, the Town of Port Hedland has sought to develop growth planning strategies to guide development and ensure that the impending expansion is managed in a way that results in a positive living environment. With lead consultants RPS, the Town of Port Hedland has created the Pilbara Port City Growth Plan (hereafter referred to as the Growth Plan). The Growth Plan forms a strategic blueprint to develop Port Hedland into a city, mapping out how to sustain its existing resident population and manage its growth to a Regional City of up to 50,000 people. Spatially, the Growth Plan identiﬁes 16 Growth Precincts, broadly setting out how land should be developed and used to balance residential needs and those of the Port and resource operations. This Growth Plan can be viewed on the Town of Port Hedland website. The Pilbara Port City Implementation Plan will subsequently be developed to provide further detail on how to achieve the strategies laid down in The Growth Plan. This document is called Port Hedland: Shaping a Cosmopolitan Port City and is designed to complement the Growth Plan. It is designed for three things: t To enable us all to share in the vision: The Growth Plan is an extensive document that is intended to give planners and government a detailed road map to work from when it comes to land use decisions, planning and infrastructure development. However, this document is intended as a more accessible, community-oriented document to summarise the main ideas and big picture plans for Port Hedland. We hope that this will help all of us ‘sing from the same hymn sheet’, so to speak. The kind of vision we have together set for Port Hedland can only be achieved if we are all pulling in the same direction. How involved you, the community decide to be, will determine whether Port Hedland achieves its full potential. Your human touch will enable Port Hedland to become a city while retaining the qualities that deﬁne it as a community.

To understand community perspectives and soft infrastructure needs: This document outlines the results of your input and feedback as a community to describe your vision, including the more intangible factors that will inﬂuence the town’s future. While the hard infrastructure of a place gives it the bones and fundamental structure, soft infrastructure is equally as important and helps create the ‘body’, the ‘form’, the ‘connective tissue’ of a place. The Growth Plan, although it addresses a range of issues, predominantly deals with the hard infrastructure needs and impacts for Port Hedland. This document explores how we can build on the structure that the Growth Plan outlines, and identify some of the soft infrastructure requirements that will be needed to shape Port Hedland. To benchmark ourselves and keep us on track: This document is predominantly informed by your views, as the community members who will ultimately be the keepers of the Port Hedland vision. However, it also looks out to the international sphere to learn what we can from elsewhere that might be important for us here, and to make sure we are setting our sights high – after all, we need to make sure what we create is good enough for us long term. By having a document that gives us a simple outline of core principles to work to, hopefully it will help us keep our eye on the prize and help build an enviable reputation.

We hope this document will help provide you as a community and as valued stakeholders with an overview of the future Port Hedland you have indicated you would like to see. We also hope it will help make it easier for you to see opportunities to contribute to achieving that future, in whatever small ways we each can. The following sections will start by giving you the big picture outline for Port Hedland as a future city, followed by a summary of how this picture was arrived at and why it is important at all. The document then looks at how we can work toward achieving that big picture, and breaking the journey down into smaller steps.

WHY ARE WE DOING THIS? Port Hedland is in the exciting position of entering a phase of particular opportunity and growth, and is able to do so from a position of prosperity and with a foundation of unique strengths. As the region’s industry growth continues its trajectory, the need for skilled talent resident in the region and the need for development will propel our town’s rapid growth into one of two key cities of the region. State and regional governments aim to grow Port Hedland to a population of 50,000 people by 2035. Such growth, however, will need well-rounded and strategic planning matched with investment to get the foundations right and balance economic, resident and sustainability needs. Already the town is experiencing a number of growth pressures that you as residents and community members are all too aware of. The towns rapid growth to date together with a lack of national and state re-investment in the past has resulted in a challenging environment that is industrial, expensive to live in, lacking in social capital and infrastructure and has a social dynamic signiﬁcantly impacted by FIFO and shift work. The Growth Plan and this document aim to provide a vision and guide for how we can grow in ways that build and expand our quality of life, capture opportunity and retain the things we love about our town. More detail on the impetus for the Growth Plan’s development and the assessment of Port Hedland’s current standing can be found in the Growth Plan (see www.porthedland.wa.gov.au).

Photo by Bill Shaylor, P.H.otography program, 2008

A MAP OF GUIDING PRINCIPLES The principles outlined here provide a guiding framework for development, and are essential to ensure the strategic development of the town in a manner that resonates with its local citizens and stakeholders. The vision and place essence define our essential character and the place we want to be. The principles or values guide the process and the spirit in which strategies should be undertaken. The opportunities offer particular goals that characterise the end picture we would like to result in which will focus our efforts.

VISION AND PLACE ESSENCE The Town of Port Hedland has created a vision for the town that has informed the Growth Plan. This vision is complemented by a community-developed ‘place essence’ statement that articulates the character of Port Hedland as a place and provides insight into what you as a community value about the town. It expresses what will distinguish the future city, ensuring it remains authentic as it grows. It is also this essence that helps deﬁne the character of place that will attract people and visitors. These two statements together provide a guiding focus for future development: ‘A nationally signiﬁcant, friendly city, where people want to live and are proud to call home.’ Town of Port Hedland Vision

‘A place of vast horizons, story and discovery, of people and possibility; where the profoundness of the past meets with the potency of the future.’1 Community-developed Place Essence

COMMUNITY VALUES – PRINCIPLES TO GUIDE DEVELOPMENT Deﬁning the vision is essential to know where we are trying to get to, and what type of place we want to be. However, it is just as important to know what values or principles are important to deﬁne the means and method of getting there. These values guide our actions and priorities, indicate another level of detail on the type of place we want to achieve.

Through community consultation, a set of principles have been established that form a guiding framework to ensure development is in line with these expressed community values:

t t t

Making Port Hedland home: a place where our families and visitors feel welcome. Developing Port Hedland’s resourcefulness: building on our entrepreneurial, DIY culture with innovation and creativity, to make things happen. Revealing Port Hedland’s riches: celebrating our unique local character and valuing our diverse strengths - from an ancient landscape that is home to one of the world’s oldest living cultures, to our natural resources and new industry, to our leading Indigenous art, and and our reputation as the friendliest community in the region. Connecting Port Hedland with the world: leveraging the world’s largest port facility, our international airport, and our growing multicultural community to connect internationally. Building Port Hedland’s resilience: by building a strong community, investing in education, diversifying our economy and looking after our environment to ensure opportunities for all in the long term. Giving Port Hedland’s best and expecting the best: a place where our environment, commercial and cultural life showcase the quality of our community. Celebrating Port Hedland’s vibrancy: making our connected, attractive neighbourhood centres alive with activity and opportunities that are accessible to the whole community.

THREE OPPORTUNITIES FOR PORT HEDLAND From the research and consultation undertaken as part of the growth planning process, three clear opportunities for Port Hedland have emerged.

1. CITY OF NEIGHBOURS:

Becoming a community-minded, residential city with capacity to support 50,000 people.

2. INTERNATIONAL GATEWAY:

Becoming a leading port city and gateway to Asia, Australia and the world.

3. CULTURAL CAPITAL:

Becoming the cultural capital of the North West.

These are opportunities which Port Hedland is particularly well-placed to capture, that would signiﬁcantly contribute to distinguishing the future city, and which are aligned with your principles for growth. It should be noted that they won’t just happen on their own - it will take concerted effort to capitalise on these opportunities. However, they offer the potential for Port Hedland to play from its distinctive strengths and develop into the liveable city it will need to become.

SOCIAL CAPITAL Although there are many deﬁnitions, what we mean here when we talk about social capital is the connections, networks, ‘the glue’ between people that holds our communities together and inﬂuences the quality of the experience of being part of that community. It contributes to the development of social norms such as reciprocity and trustworthiness. ‘Whereas physical capital refers to physical objects and human capital refers to the properties of individuals, social capital refers to connections among individuals – social networks and the norms of reciprocity and trustworthiness that arise from them. In that sense social capital is closely related to what some have called ‘civic virtue.’ The difference is that ‘social capital’ calls attention to the fact that civic virtue is most powerful when embedded in a sense network of reciprocal social relations.’

shows that social cohesion is critical for societies to prosper economically and for development to be sustainable’.4 The beneﬁts of social interaction from attending cultural events and sporting matches have also been well documented. 5 Studies have shown an improvement in feelings of wellbeing, with people who engaged in cultural activities and sports reporting better health and satisfaction with life, as well as lower levels of anxiety and depression.6

(Robert Putnam, 2000).

While there are immense beneﬁts to strong social capital, there can be a signiﬁcant downside that we must be mindful of. ‘Groups and organisations with high social capital have the means (and sometimes the motive) to work to exclude and subordinate others. Furthermore, the experience of living in close knit communities can be stultifying - especially to those who feel they are ‘different’ in some important way.’7

Relationships and networks are at the core of society and are essential to individual as well as collective wellbeing. People are linked together through webs of family, friends, shared interests, work, activities, community groups, and even through more passing encounters by virtue of the interactions of everyday life.

Therefore, it is important that we match our development of social capital with concerted efforts to embrace diversity and open-mindedness, ensuring that we increase opportunities to try new things, interact with people from different walks of life, and be exposed to different ways of thinking about things.

There is evidence that places with strong social capital experience a range of benefits. ‘Interaction enables people to build communities, to commit themselves to each other, and to knit the social fabric.’2 Communities with strong social capital are more likely to benefit from lower crime figures, better health, higher educational achievement, and better economic growth.3 It is also associated with better cared for and maintained urban environments. Even institutions such as the World Bank recognise the value of social capital, as ‘increasing evidence

For Port Hedland, not only will social capital be important for addressing a number of the challenges you have highlighted, and for retaining the sense of community you value, but positive social capital will be an important ingredient for retaining people and attracting others as we seek to grow.

A CITY FOR THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE This guiding framework – the vision, values and aims – has been reached as a result of dialogue with you and your fellow community members, the people who make up Port Hedland’s diverse community. The conversations to gather your collective feedback and input have taken a number of different forms over the last year. The following diagram gives an indicative summary of this valuable input. A list of contributors is at the end of this document.

Thank you to all of you who have found the time to contribute to workshops, surveys and face to face interviews to shape the vision and planning for the future of Port Hedland. This has been essential to ensure together we can aim for the kind of city you want to see the town become.

Local Insight:

A CITY FOR THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE Mark Hinch, Manager, Pilbara Media

There can be no doubt that our community is changing and whether these changes are going to endear themselves to the wider community is basically up to us and our voices within this community to get it right, or at least, as right as we can. People power can ensure decision makers listen and act accordingly to provide this growing and sustainable community with a vibrant, prosperous and harmonious environment. This can only happen if the community is able to understand what is being planned and actively encouraged to participate in the pathway to improvements and change. We are all aware that there are many obstacles facing small business and the community and these are being addressed by the power brokers and decision makers. One of the major obstacles faced is the availability of affordable land and housing options to allow small business to attract valuable staff. This is coupled to a dearth of commercial small lots that are required to increase the number of businesses coming to this community. Again land affordability is key to this vital component. The North West Telegraph provides all businesses, whether large or small, with a vehicle to carry their message out to our community. I doubt I have seen a marketable increase in the number of small retail

businesses opening in my time here. In fact due to just two of the reasons detailed above many have closed and left town. A city for the people by the people needs and must demand a diverse range of businesses large and small to provide them with a much wider variety of local options. The onus then is to support this local business.

Photo by Zabia Chmielewski.

â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are fortunate enough to have the opportunity of becoming the best community-centred city in Australia. We have a great community spirit and with enough assistance and funding we can turn Port Hedland into a city without losing that great sense of community/family.â&#x20AC;? Community Member

WHAT KIND OF PLACE SHOULD OUR FUTURE PORT HEDLAND BE? Given the growth planning process is important to ensure we channel rapid expansion to result in the kind of place we want to live in, the question then is what kind of place do we want our Port Hedland to be? Here, in this section, is a summary of what you as a community think is important for Port Hedland’s future. As shown previously, consultation and feedback was gained through a variety of means to ensure you had a wide range of opportunities to provide input. This included workshops, public forums, small group and one to one interviews with community and stakeholder representatives, working groups, stakeholder reference groups, feedback submissions and surveying.

Reading the graphics: For some of the survey questions, where the responses are qualitative in nature and involve detailed and descriptive answers, we have used a ‘wordle’ format to provide an easily digestible visual reference to get a sense of responses at a glance. We have analysed the in depth response data, and interpretation is based on that. However, these graphics provide you a more accessible understanding of the key themes expressed. Those words and themes most common in your responses appear larger in the graphic, while those that were less common appear smaller.

This section takes account of all the feedback across these various channels to present key themes back to you. The info-graphics shown are particularly drawn from the survey results. Over 500 people responded to the surveys, which is well above standard response targets for much larger cities. As conversations and feedback from our Indigenous community members were sought through additional culturally appropriate means to complement broad outreach, there are some instances in this section where the Indigenous perspective is shown distinctly. This is because there was a difference (or similarity) in the responses worth noting, or the questions or discussion varied substantially from the questions asked in broad outreach. Otherwise the responses reﬂect an inclusive range of our community members.

YOU SAID... PORT HEDLAND TODAY Before working on the future, it is important to understand where we are today. Hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s what you said on how you perceive Port Hedland to be now:

As an Indigenous community more speciﬁcally, this is how you indicated you perceive Port Hedland to be now:

While there is a degree of dissatisfaction with the town as it is currently, there is also an overwhelming sense of patience and positivity that stems from optimism for the future – a sense that things are changing and will change for the better. There is also the suggestion of strengths that can be built on. There is little doubt that you as a community are expressing a readiness for change. It is an incredibly powerful asset for Port Hedland to have residents who are very positive and supportive of change - support many cities do not have the luxury of. This will be an essential ingredient for enabling the town’s transformation long term.

By an overwhelming majority, the greatest challenge you as a community perceived for Port Hedland was Affordability, Accommodation and Land with 31% of your survey responses identifying this challenge. It was also identiﬁed in your survey responses as the biggest issue of dissatisfaction with the town currently. This has been the dominant theme reiterated throughout our discussions with you across meetings, workshops, surveys and other forms of feedback, as the biggest concern in discussions about the town’s growth.

PORT HEDLANDâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S FUTURE Moving from where we are today to where we would like to be, this is what you said about what Port Hedland should aim to be:

This table shows the themes of your responses when you were asked to describe the type of place you’d like Port Hedland to be:

The conveniences, amenities and opportunities for enjoyment that come with a city and a more well-rounded place dominated what you’d like to see in your future Port Hedland. The leading theme of your responses by more than 2.5 times any other response, with 16% of responses to the survey, indicates an overwhelming desire for more conveniences, amenities and social and cultural life: ‘A vibrant place with a range of retail, leisure and social activities including cafes, restaurants, bowling, cinema, events etc.’ Your responses that ranked highly after this standout issue all related to making the town a more viable, liveable community-oriented place.

When asked what you see as Port Hedlandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s greatest opportunity, hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s how you responded:

When asked to identify Port Hedlandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s greatest current opportunity for the future, your responses reinforced the current dominance of income, careers and employment as the driving attractor to the town. However your second and third most common responses highlighted the Community: Vibrancy, Culture, Diversity, People; and Becoming a City, Urban, Growing as strong, positive opportunities for the future.

Your responses as Indigenous community members similarly emphasised support for becoming a city and a desire for the various things that make up a city, such as increased conveniences, shops and amenities. You also reiterated the desire to retain a strong community and the strong value placed on the people in the town, its friendliness and family focus.

This graphic shows what you as an Indigenous community more speciďŹ cally indicated you would like Port Hedland to be:

Overall your responses as a broad community group suggest the importance of developing and maintaining social capital for the townâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s future. 23

In addition to this sense of your aspirations for the town, there was clear feedback on what you feel makes Port Hedland distinctive from other places. This is important, providing insight into the signature characteristics of Port Hedland that can be used as building blocks for the future vision. When asked what you think is most distinctive about Port Hedland compared to other places, here is what you told us:

As an Indigenous community, this is what you told is most distinctive or unique about Port Hedland:

COMMUNITY RED DIRT BEACH CAMPING IRON ORE LAND FRIENDLY PARK CHICKEN TREAT WATER TRAINS HISTORY OPPORTUNITIES LIFESTYLE FISHING

It is clear from your responses that themes of people and community, the Port and ships, the industrial base, lifestyle, water access and ďŹ shing come through strongly. The Indigenous perspective has a stronger emphasis on the visual and landscape elements and markers of industry, while the broad community survey has a stronger emphasis on the opportunities and economic aspect of industry. A common theme in your responses both as a whole community and as an Indigenous community was the value placed on water and coastal access and recreation, as well as the Port. Across all your feedback the importance of the community itself, its friendliness and the value placed on fellow people and family are of overriding importance.

PORT HEDLANDâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES When asked what you think Port Hedlandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s greatest challenge is, you again highlighted the affordability issue as a top concern. At 31% of responses, this issue was rated at almost 3 times the prominence of the 2nd greatest challenge. Your top 5 challenges for the town were: -

Affordability, accommodation and land Community building, people attraction, vibrancy Equality and inclusiveness Changing perceptions and attitudes Safety and crime

This table shows your responses on what you think is the greatest challenge Port Hedland faces:

Photo by Christine Villanti, 2008

And as we think about what’s required to maintain, create and grow our community, it is worth considering what our current residents’ inclination is to stay here. There were some revealing insights on what is inﬂuencing decisions to stay or go, and what factors may provide opportunities to change those inclinations. Almost half of you, 47%, indicated in your survey responses that you were likely to stay no more than a few years and then leave. That’s a signiﬁcant churn of talent and people for Port Hedland. In reality, the churn rates are even higher than is captured in your survey responses. The Pilbara region has a highly transient and unstable population base. According to the WA Planning Commission, the region’s index of residence instability is currently very high (66%) when compared to the average population ‘churn’ for WA (46%) and the Perth metropolitan area (45%). Within the region, this is more evident in some towns than others. Port

Hedland experiences 65% instability, slightly less than Karratha’s 69%.8 However, there is significant opportunity to raise the level of attachment to place. 30% of you say you’ll either be here indefinitely or love this place and won’t be going anywhere. An additional 14% of you have no idea whether you’ll stay or go. That gives us the biggest initial opportunity to try to change your mind and raise our retention rates by addressing the changes you need to see to tip the balance from not knowing to deciding to stay. To better understand what impacts decisions to stay or to go, we asked you what would influence your decision to leave Port Hedland. Here’s what you told us:

So what will influence your decisions to go or stay? The highest number of you, at a quarter of survey responses, indicate the biggest influence on your decision to leave is that your friends and family are based elsewhere (24%). 71% of you do not have family in town. The second most cited reason is that there aren’t enough schools and education opportunities for your family (16%), with the third most common reason being that work is likely to take you elsewhere (14%). Health, safety and other social infrastructure, followed by affordability are the fourth and fifth reasons. If we want to influence the 47% of you intending to leave then these are the factors we should focus on. Although the location of friends and family is harder to change, your responses suggest it is worth improving how we engage them at least, whether through making visitation easier, encouraging greater residential focus or potentially focusing employment strategies to ensure opportunities for family members in the town. This would help grow the local networks for residents. It also suggests that building stronger social networks and investing in social capital within Port Hedland would strengthen your ties to the town. Already, when asked about how accurate you feel a series of statements about Port Hedland are, the strongest positive responses are that the town is ‘Full of great people’, and is ‘Poised for an exciting future’. This optimism and strong basis from which to build social capital offers a promising foundation. Ultimately, social capital will be an important part of the lifestyle offering in the competition to attract and retain talent. Addressing schools and education will evidently need to be a priority for improvement and investment. It will be essential to ensure we make the education and schools available in Port Hedland very high quality and accessible so that you don’t feel that leaving town is the only way to secure opportunities for

your kids. Engaging the community in contributing to the education of our youth is also an enormous opportunity for helping people of all ages feel more involved and connected with their place. Already the anticipated growth of work opportunities (3rd reason) works in Port Hedland’s favour. Showing strong career pathways in the town, as opposed to good jobs that are perceived as isolated rather than linked to further opportunity, could help counter the assumption that to advance in career, work will take people elsewhere. Addressing the lack of health safety and other social infrastructure, and addressing affordability will be fundamental requirements that will also need to be resolved as part of the growth planning. To get a better sense of speciﬁc things that would improve your experience of the town, we asked you what would make Port Hedland a better place for you to live. You prioritised what matters most to you, and your top 5 responses indicated the following:

t t t t t

Better shopping, cafes and restaurants More affordable housing More social and cultural infrastructure More community activities including events A more balanced economy with a greater blend of jobs

You also told us about the issues most important to you for the town’s development, with the leading issues being: t Affordability, housing and land supply t Shops, retail and hospitality t Beautiﬁcation, cleanliness and maintenance, shading t Integration or reduction of FIFO to balance industry and residential needs t Safety and policing These are useful indicators of the things planning can focus on that will make the biggest difference to improving your experience, lifestyle and of course inﬂuencing your decisions to stay.

To help us understand further what would shape a better experience of Port Hedland for you to live here, we asked you to prioritise what would make the biggest difference. These are the priorities you highlighted:

To ensure we understand the nuances of shaping a better experience for you as an Indigenous community to live here, we also asked what would make the biggest difference for your communities to improve Port Hedland as a home. You indicated the following priorities:

13% 9% 9% 8% 8% 7% 7% 7% 7% 6% 6% 6% 5% 2% 1%

In the speciďŹ c feedback from you as Indigenous community members, the top 5 responses you told us on what would make the biggest difference to improving Port Hedland as a home for you were in a similar vein:

t t t t t

More affordable housing Education options that combine cultural learning and school Youth activities More employment opportunities An Indigenous cultural centre

This was supported by further discussions with you which indicated several broader areas of priority for your Indigenous communities. These provide good context and more detail, and include:

t t

t t t t t t t

Affordable housing for Aboriginal people and reduction of waiting list timeframes Funding and amenity support for parents and community members to teach Indigenous singing and dancing (such as through the Youth Centre) Demonstrated progress on key projects, with greater coordination of efforts to focus on issues of real import to Indigenous people A market place and space for artwork sales Assistance for Aboriginal people to participate in society More community dwellings and caravan parks Regular public transport between Port and South Hedland Banks in South Hedland Expanded Post OfďŹ ce

One big difference within the community, is that as part of the Indigenous community you indicated much higher levels of family connections in Port Hedland, with 95% of you indicating you have family in town. This presents a good base for building social capital and maintaining supportive networks, if the fundamental issues of housing can be addressed.

Photo by Bill Shaylor, 2010

A MATTER OF PRIORITIES Your feedback on some of the actions you feel would be most important provide an indication of priorities. The list of items selected for testing in the survey was distilled from the Growth Plan feedback process and preliminary strategies developed in order to get your feedback. Here are the actions from a selected shortlist that you were surveyed on and indicated as most strongly supported (listed in order of support): 1. Continue offering and growing markets and festive occasions 2. Multi-purpose recreation centre 3. Coastal walkway linking key sites 4. Develop the airport as a welcoming gateway evocative of the region 5. Increase public transport between Port, South and key precincts 6. Develop small business and creative practice supports 7. Multi-cultural food festival 8. Attract a university 9 Leveraging specialisation in the schools (eg high school is an art specialist school) 10. Growing Small Wins work for community led projects and public space improvements 11. Photography gallery 12. Indigenous arts space

In the same survey, you also indicated that where entertainment amenities speciďŹ cally are concerned there are 2 stand out priorities. A cinema is by far the most desired entertainment amenity at 28% of responses and the second priority is a bowling alley, with 13% of responses.

Photo by Melanie Lockyer, 2008

SUMMARY OF THEMES: WHAT’S IMPORTANT TO DEVELOP THE PLACE OUR COMMUNITY WOULD LIKE TO SEE?

must guide the town’s development, and the Growth Plan is a prime opportunity to signal the aspirations of the community and its leadership. This document tries to capture those aspirations so we can ensure we keep our eye on the ball. We also understand that to maintain a sense of momentum, showing action and not just more talk is critical, whilst still looking long term to address legacy issues such as affordability, education, diversification and inclusiveness. Showing action and progress will be essential to maintain your confidence in the process and demonstrate that your optimism is justified with improvements taking place. Fostering vibrancy and community activity is a strong means of maintaining this optimism, so programming should be designed to encourage this. The quality of built form and the urban environment, accessible connected neighbourhoods, and concentrated activity also build a sense of vibrancy and must be taken into account. These elements stand as important indicators of the future of the town that will be shaped. It is these elements that will signal Port Hedland as a place of opportunity.

From our conversations and your feedback, four themes emerge as important dimensions to be addressed in future development:

Attachment to Place and Liveability– To achieve and maintain the community that you have clearly indicated is so valued in Port Hedland, we must address the things that are important to enticing you to stay and others to move here. That includes building social capital, creating a place that expresses your community values, developing and building on your community-mindedness and loyalty to the town, and encouraging inclusiveness that enables diverse people to participate in the community across the current divides such as wealth and FIFO structures. After all, as Shakespeare said, ‘What is a city but the people?’ It is you who will make the future city what it is. Investing in the connections that link people to place, to each other and to the broader world will be essential for the town’s future.

Distinctiveness and Community Character– To enable the town to grow yet retain its authenticity and the things you as a community love most about this place, Port Hedland must celebrate and leverage its distinctiveness: its unique qualities and strengths. Celebrating Port Hedland’s diverse assets will be essential. This will also be a vital means of expanding economic opportunity and diversifying by leveraging unique local strengths.

Aspirations and Optimism– The optimism you expressed in the surveying is an enormous opportunity that works to the advantage of Port Hedland through the development process. To maintain this, it will be important for planning and development to honour your aspirations, ensuring the ambition of the planning remains at an appropriately high level and factors in community sentiments. Your aspirations

City Building and Diversification– Developing the vibrancy you seek and access to the range of amenities and conveniences you are yearning for is a central aspect of the town’s growth into a city. Planning must address the need for the basic things that people generally want from a city environment – convenience, variety, discovery and opportunity.9 You have clearly indicated your desire for greater choice, more shopping, hospitality, activities, social and cultural opportunities, and amenities. Enabling the growth of more diverse enterprise and businesses will be vital to achieving that. Affordability will be fundamental to diversification and the town’s development as a viable residential city. And accessibility to these benefits of urbanisation will also be important, requiring integration of the city across Port and South Hedland as one whole and ensuring a connective framework through transport, urban design, programming and other linkages.

Top to bottom; Left to righ: John Elliot, Home Away from Home Series, 2010; John Elliot, Home Away from Home Series, 2010; Kathy Neylon, 2008 John Elliot, Home Away from Home Series, 2010; John Elliot, P.H.otography, 2008; John Elliot, Home Away from Home Series, 2010 John Elliot, Home Away from Home Series, 2010; John Elliot, Home Away from Home Series, 2010; Samantha Bell, 2011 Bobbi Coldicott 2008; John Elliot, Home Away from Home Series, 2010; Samantha Bell, 2011

CITY ADVANTAGE Cities and urban environments provide big advantages for their citizens, and it’s these advantages you have expressed a strong desire for as you seek greater choice, more activities and things to do, access to the amenities you want, and easier means to get around. As leading urban experts, CEOs for Cities, have identiﬁed, there are four big advantages that come with more urbanised economies and environments:10 Variety: ‘Cities offer a wide range of choices of the goods, services and amenities that people value, raising their satisfaction and standard of living. Well-educated people prefer to live in cities, in part, because of their greater taste for variety, making cities more attractive to employers needing talented workers.’ 11

Discovery: City environments bring with them the chance for people to be exposed to more opportunities, which also helps them discover more local consumption opportunities. This enables markets for new products and economies to develop. Opportunity: Cities offer a wider variety of jobs, education and the chance to acquire new skills and opportunities. They then can attract more workers looking to upgrade their ‘human capital’. These are the characteristics you have told us you are looking for. These are also characteristics Port Hedland has the opportunity to foster as it grows, and that would aid in building the town into a city.

Convenience: Density in cities paired with greater variety means ‘more goods, services and people are close at hand’, allowing people to travel less and spend less time seeking what they want for work, households or leisure. That all adds up to less frustration, more convenience and greater satisfaction.

International Insight:

CITY PLANNING NEW PARADIGMS OF THINKING Charles Landry Principal, Comedia, UK International urban expert Charles Landry provides insight on the main issues city makers around the world must deal with, and contrasts the traditional approaches with alternative, progressive ways of thinking about these issues. This does not mean the old ways are unnecessary, but that we need to consider new methods. The following highlights the traditional modes contrasted with new paradigms of thinking about city issues. Traditional modes are listed first, followed by new paradigm thinking in italics. OVERVIEW ISSUES The triple bottom line considers environmental, economic and social issues as best practice in sustainability. Culture is the fourth pillar of sustainability as it drives a city’s differentiation and identity. Best practice benchmarking is the apex of strategic thinking Best practice benchmarking is taken as a given, but essentially involves being a follower not a leader. Redefining the playing field is key. Getting baseline facilities right provides the platform for competitiveness Baseline facilities taken as a given. Competitiveness

moves to a new level such as the capacity to be innovative. Making the city attractive is key Attractiveness is seen as too narrow and well being, quality of life and liveability issues move centre-stage Hardware predominantly shapes the city Thinking of the hardware and software simultaneously is key The quantity and the growth in numbers is central The focus is on the quality of growth and types of people attracted is more relevant Ever increasing size, for example of the city, is everything Achieving appropriate critical mass to achieve goals is key Culture is a cost and an optional add-on that happens after the main urban elements are in place Culture is an asset, it drives the shape of distinctive development and moves centre-stage Behaviour is regulated to achieve aims People are encouraged to take self-responsibility for the environment and health MANAGEMENT AND ORGANISATION Efﬁciency is focused on inputs/outputs and resulting costs and proﬁt management Effectiveness is focused on outcomes and results by allocating resources to achieve goals Subject specialists dominate Cross-disciplinary thinkers are key Work and initiatives seek to achieve simple goals Instead the aim is to achieve complex objectives Silo structures and departmentalism dominate New integrated models of decision making and team working emerge. Partnership and collaboration provides the platform for effectiveness

Civic participation and consultation in city making seen as a cost that takes time It builds in long term social resilience and effectiveness PLANNING AND DESIGN Planning projects is the primary task Planning communities, places and neighbourhoods and overall liveability becomes the central concern.

Disconnected options prevail An integrated transport hierarchy with levels and choices is created RESOURCES Inputs and outputs are disconnected which leads to contamination, pollution and waste. Inefﬁcient as it creates a problem somewhere else Circular resource ﬂow thinking analyses issues in their full lifecycle and from cradle to cradle

Land uses and functions are separated Mixed uses are predominant as between living, working, leisure and shopping

Waste exists – it is out of sight and out of mind Waste is a resource and an opportunity

Urban components such as housing or recreation spaces assessed in isolation Integrated place making

The environment is free good and does not reﬂect market costs The true environmental cost is taken into account

Real estate development drives city making Developers given freedom to operate within a set of big picture public interest principles

Beyond targeting resource efﬁciency To achieving eco-effectiveness

Quality and aesthetics a smaller consideration Now becomes a central consideration for urban design and planning

The energy crisis is a problem The crisis opens the way for the 4th clean industrial revolution providing the most promising business opportunities

TRANSPORT The movement system is seen as a transport and trafﬁc concept Mobility, accessibility and connectivity deﬁnes how we see the system

INFRASTRUCTURE Infrastructures are provided through centralised systems More decentralised systems to increase resilience and ﬂexibility

A journey of individual steps Becomes seamless journeys from destination to destination

Deﬁned as an engineering driven output issue Provision embeds eco arguments in planning and developments

A ﬁxed and rigid movement system Becomes one that is scalable, ﬂexible with the capacity to grow incrementally

Seen as purely functional and not connected to urban design Part of the city making panoply and aesthetic considerations come in as to how infrastructures are presented

The needs of the car and building roads is predominant Public transport becomes the primary spine, building streets to encourage pedestrians and walkability is key

This more contemporary framework for thinking should inform Port Hedland’s approach to future planning and implementation.

Photo by Chloe Hooper, 2008

THE PATHWAY AHEAD As we seek to map out a pathway ahead to get us from where we are now to where we want Port Hedland to be in the future, this section starts to suggest some ways we can break down the task of achieving our 3 goals and kick start us along the path. It is worth taking a step back for a moment to be clear about how this document works together with the Growth Plan. From a land use perspective, the planning detail has been laid out in the Growth Plan document and you can refer to the hard infrastructure plans there. This document, Port

Hedland: Shaping a Cosmopolitan Port City, instead focuses on the soft infrastructure, or more intangible requirements of planning and the areas where these overlap with hard infrastructure or inďŹ&#x201A;uence the urban environment. In summary, the Growth Plan is based on a scenario that will balance growth across the 2 existing town centre areas.

This Activity Centre Framework map shows the key nodes where activity centre growth will be focused, as detailed in Pilbaraâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Port City Growth Plan. 43

Photo by Bill Shaylor, 2010

This plan will balance inďŹ ll growth and controlled expansion of urban areas, and is expected to result in a balance in which 68% of dwellings would be in South Hedland and 32% in Port Hedland. The main challenge for this strategy will be ensuring connectivity between the activity centres.

everyday lives, however, are those conďŹ rmed as the key activity centres: South Hedland as the primary city centre, the East End of Port Hedland to grow as a secondary neighbourhood centre, linked with the commercial/cultural precinct that will be further developed in the West End.

As a detailed document, the Growth Plan outlines the speciďŹ c intentions for each of the 16 precincts that will make up Port Hedland, including community, industrial, business, land bank and port precincts. The precincts that will most likely be part of your

Whilst you can view the detailed plans for each of the 16 precincts in the Growth Plan, the following summarised precinct plans and statements provide an indication of the focus for each of the 3 key activity centre precincts.

WEST END: ‘The West End is the Port City’s soul – perhaps like Fremantle is to Perth it is a unique and interesting place. It supports the growing port activity, yet remains people friendly and accessible. It is busy with day time workers, many of whom leave their ofﬁces to enjoy lunch in outdoor cafes and bars. As evening arrives the West End transforms into a place popular with tourists observing Australia’s largest tonnage port and our coastline, while travelling professionals and the wider city population enjoy the many cultural, dining and entertainment activities.’ (Statements from Pilbara’s Port City Growth Plan)

West End Precinct Statement and Plan, courtesy of Pilbara’s Port City Growth Plan.

EAST END URBAN VILLAGE ‘The East End Urban Village is Port Hedland’s primary residential area. The area, encompassing established Cook Point and Pretty Pool offers signiﬁcant housing density and diversity together with sport and recreation opportunities, and school and community facilities. At its heart is a retail and mixed use village that offers a range of local convenience as well as dining and entertainment choices. Strong links to the coast and mangrove environs have been established which offer residents and visitors alike a closer connection with the landscape.’

PRECINCT HIGHLIGHTS 1. Mixed use/short stay iconic development site.

8. Short-stay accommodation next to mangrove environs.

2. Neighbourhood centre providing primary Port Hedland mixed use/retail opportunities.

9. Coastal drive (slow speed environment). 10. Coastal park/lookout.

3. Setback to rail corridor subject to detail investigation, incorporating district recreation.

11. East end coastal access opportunities.

4. High School.

12. Upgraded access to/from Wilson Street.

5. Primary School.

13. Existing community retained and integrated with surrounding residential development.

6. New entry road with direct connection to coastal drive.

14. Opportunities for density increases.

7. Local convenience shopping/cafe/restaurant with ‘mangrove experience’.

15. Development to recognise historic past through links to racecourse and former airﬁeld.

10 10 10 14

ATHOL

STR EE T

COOKE POINT 10

CEMETERY BEACH 10

7 2

WI LSO

STYLE

ST RE E

RO AD 14

PRETTY POOL 6

Precinct Plan is indicative only. Final land use and development subject to further detailed planning investigations.

East End Urban Village Precinct Statement and Plan, courtesy of Pilbara’s Port City Growth Plan.

CITY CENTRE PRECINCT ‘A place of ‘northern Australian life’, Pilbara’s Port City Centre is a dynamic, accessible and inclusive place that is the heart of the South Hedland community and the major regional centre of our City of 50,000 people. It is an exciting destination for visitors, business people and residents. It has great public spaces, friendly streets, landmark buildings and architecture. There are many inﬂuences through public art and space of our strong association with Indigenous heritage and natural landscape. Like the many destinations throughout Pilbara’s Port City, culture and social destinations are woven into our City Centre.’

LAWSON

FORREST C IRC 3 LE 5

CASSIA

4 6

C DO

R MU

7 10 7 8

PRECINCT HIGHLIGHTS 1. Civic / Justice precinct.

7. High density mixed use residential.

2. Indigenous Culture precinct.

8. Health Precinct (including expansion area for hospital).

3. City Commercial / Ofﬁ ce Precinct. 4. Retail / Shopping Centre. 5. ‘Main Street’ Activity Precinct.

9. Medium density residential. 10. Mixed use commercial precinct connected to City Centre.

6. Town Square.

City Centre Precinct Statement and Plan, courtesy of Pilbara’s Port City Growth Plan.

MOVING TOWARD OUR THREE OPPORTUNITIES From your invaluable feedback and the knowledge you have shared combined with the extensive research undertaken as part of the growth planning process, three opportunities emerged, as previously highlighted:

1. CITY OF NEIGHBOURS:

Becoming a community-minded, residential city with capacity to support 50,000 people.

2. INTERNATIONAL GATEWAY:

Becoming a leading port city and gateway to Asia, Australia and the world.

3. CULTURAL CAPITAL:

Becoming the cultural capital of the North West.

These are opportunities we can aim to capture in order to achieve the future Port Hedland we all want to see and distinguish our city as unlike any other in WA. As goals, they will aid in focusing our strategies, efforts and investment going forward. In the following section we’ll explore some of the strategies and actions that could help us work toward each of these 3 goals for the future Port Hedland. These are preliminary suggested strategies and actions that will be explored further as part of the implementation planning stage to reﬁne these and condense the list to the priority actions.

These strategies and actions have been drawn from needs and strategies proposed by the Growth Plan and other relevant town plans, from the things you as a community have informed us of the need for, and from clear gaps that need to be addressed in order to achieve the town’s vision and opportunities. As possible actions, these represent the beginning of a process of exploring and refining final action plans with you, which will be part of the implementation planning phase of the growth planning. The implementation planning will also need to identify responsibilities for delivery of the final, refined actions. To achieve the vision we have together developed will require all of us, across sectors, to play our part. Your principles for growth (outlined in the section Map of Guiding Principles, pg 8) should guide how these actions are shaped and delivered to ensure they remain attuned to your values and priorities as a community.

CITY OF NEIGHBOURS: Becoming a Community-Minded, Residential City with Capacity to Support 50,000 People.

Your feedback has shown a strong desire to develop as a city that can offer the range of lifestyle opportunities, conveniences and amenities that you would like to be able to enjoy, yet retain the qualities you love about the town.

There are two components to building a City of Neighbours, which the following strategies encompass:

And ďŹ rst and foremost among the things you love about Port Hedland are the people and the sense of community â&#x20AC;&#x201C; your friends and fellow community members. Our challenge, then, is to retain this community feeling as we grow so that at the end of the day we still feel connected to the people around us and value our interactions with each other. We need to remain friendly neighbours.

The city building aspect of growth which requires investing in the fundamental enabling infrastructure and investing in the things that give cities their advantage â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Variety, Convenience, Discovery, Opportunity. Increasing activation and liveability are vital to addressing these, and actions to achieve this are woven throughout the following strategies. Enabling retention and development of neighbourly and community networks.

STRATEGIES TO ACHIEVE THE GOAL

ACTION AREAS

Improve housing, land

supply and affordability

dwellings t

Become a place with

growth outcomes t

manage land supply to enable growth

Review Council held land assets and investigate incentives (including public/private partnerships) to provide high quality housing, multi-use community facilities, and economic

diverse affordable housing options and

Review land use planning to provide space/capacity for accommodating up to 23,230 new

Develop a strategy for the management and land release of land bank set aside for future residential needs in the Growth Plan

Develop/review property strategy, planning scheme and design codes for release and activation of retail, commercial, industrial and mixed-use land

Ensure adequate supply of commercial and industrial land to encourage economic diversity and continued growth

Ensure adequate housing provision is delivered for full range of demographics including aged care

Explore development of a dedicated community housing organisation vested with land holdings

Explore economic integration strategies to avoid entrenching of geographically associated wealth disparities

Review opportunities to improve speed and efﬁciency of the development approval process including fast-tracking and prioritising strategically important developments

Establish incentives to encourage development and create additional revenues that can be used for economic and community development outcomes

Encourage an appropriate diversity of housing stock to meet needs of new and existing residents

Encourage place relevance of buildings/housing as part of approvals

Encourage innovation for more culturally appropriate forms of housing for Indigenous people, in collaboration with communities

Encourage greater integration of worker or FIFO camps and amenities, with residential and town amenities and accommodation

Diversify and grow the

Encourage entrepreneurship and micro-business development through schemes such as creating a business centre; promoting and growing business support services such as the

local economy

small business centre; investigating seed funding schemes and subsidised ofﬁce space to support small and micro-business development

Leverage our strengths to develop a more diverse,

Identify opportunities to promote local business capabilities and nurture a buy local culture

resilient economy

Continue to develop the local markets as a centralised event for local micro-businesses, entrepreneurs and artists to sell their products

Develop strategies to encourage ‘import substitution’ with local services or provision including greater promotion of tender opportunities and developing an investment opportunities report based upon economic research

Explore compatible, alternative new industries for development (such as defence, logistics, small business, technology or green innovation) and undertake inward investment activities including market research, business case development, promotion of opportunities, and communication of economic updates to aid business decision making

Support innovations in green or sustainability technologies, and encourage business and industry uptake

STRATEGIES TO ACHIEVE THE GOAL

ACTION AREAS

Diversify and grow the

Showcase and celebrate initiatives or projects that are innovative

local economy

Investigate local/regional food production options, particularly fresh fruit and vegetables

Explore innovative urban agriculture approaches as well as regional solutions

Leverage our strengths to

Build on pastoral history of the region to identify economic growth opportunities

develop a more diverse,

Work to secure adequate communications and internet infrastructure to facilitate greater

resilient economy

online access including advocating strongly for National Broadband Network connection t

Develop a tourism strategy building on distinctive strengths of region and highlighting

(Continued)

authentic, varied experiences. Connect with the in-progress Pilbara tourism plan, and new state Indigenous tourism strategy. t

Inform tourism strategy with research on high value tourism to aim for

Develop back packers accommodation to facilitate tourism and support the need/demand for seasonal workers

Seek opportunities to improve range of retail, hospitality and activity offerings

Support interim programming and events to offer greater market and activity opportunities

Develop innovation and R&D capabilities through education leadership and partnerships

Review opportunities to ensure a supportive regulatory environment for new businesses and reduce regulation and barriers

Seek opportunities to leverage the National Broadband Network (NBN) and digital economy to support employment, education and industry growth

Improve education

Promote new infrastructure upgrades to NBN

Ensure adequate child care provision

Development of home-based business strategy and information

Develop means for tertiary education access and outcomes, by exploring options such as: Developing linkages with a university for educational offerings through university distance or

pathways and leadership

outreach programs for instance; Develop collaborations with Karratha on university access to gain Develop a city of

economy of scale; Explore viability of creating leading â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;labsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; in collaboration with universities, industry

knowledge leadership,

and government to develop research capabilities that will aim for international leadership leveraging

education choice and

key capabilities of the region such as resources, logistics, potential for green and solar technologies,

opportunity

geology, Indigenous enterprise development, anthropology. Leverage regional gateway positioning for related research and education on desert and regional knowledge and expertise (see also repositioning Port Hedland strategies) t

Build further collaborations between education, local industry and government

Develop partnerships between training providers and local employers to increase opportunities for skills development and employment

Expand employment and training opportunities beyond industry-only focus

Support improved and leading education services

Enhance high school and primary school learning environments and attractiveness

Support innovative high school and primary school projects for advancing skills and adaptable capabilities

Build on the strengths in existing schools such as art specialisation and leverage these advantages to market the region

Explore ways to increase engagement of the local community with education

Develop programs for combining quality education with culturally appropriate learning opportunities for Indigenous youth

Develop programs to engage parents and community with supporting school and learning activities

STRATEGIES TO ACHIEVE THE GOAL

ACTION AREAS

Improve education

accessible to underserved populations

pathways and leadership t

Explore potential to align entrepreneurship facilities with schools. Projects could include new media and real world ﬁlm projects; entrepreneurial and product development skills aligned to

Develop a city of

participation in markets

knowledge leadership, education choice and

Ensure equitable opportunities for education and employment skills development are

Explore opportunities to expand existing sports stars programs for education to incorporate business leader visits or excursions to Perth as leadership development programs

opportunity t

Enhance school perceptions with marketing that highlights the vision for education, such as leveraging billboards to set a bar for future education

Target retention of students from the 5 primary schools for high school (estimated 2000 students)

Undertake feasibility into library and community centre in town centre precinct

Increase health and

Develop walking and cycling to school or work initiatives and health education programs

wellbeing of the

Promote well being by addressing infrastructure, programs and public space deﬁciencies

community

Implement Active Open Space strategy to improve access to active and passive recreation

Become a city of

Marapikurrinya Park upgrade

wellbeing with an

Marquee water park development

attractive lifestyle

Develop boardwalk and coastal walkways masterplan, with transport connecting to it

See also waterfront access strategies below

Link sports and wellbeing programs with education

Develop strategy for timely expansion of health campus, services, specialists access and primary

opportunities,

health care services; progress of medium term initiatives of Hedland Future Today 2010 t

Launch a multi-purpose recreation centre to encourage participation in sport

Develop a skate park and youth recreation area as part of the developing town centre precinct

Redevelop the aquatic centre in the town centre precinct, and ensure regular accessibility for the community

Improve reasons to walk or cycle, for instance with attractive public pathways, interpretive walks, public art or wayﬁnding, close concentrations of activities and amenities, access between key precinct areas

Plant fruit trees or community gardens in community areas, for community enjoyment and maintenance

Improve connectivity

Improve public transport networks

through transport

Increase frequency of bus services, with demand-driven services implemented until demand

networks Foster mobility and

is sufﬁcient for ﬁxed schedule buses t

Improve communication of bus or demand-driven services and timetables to aid perceptions of accessibility

Improve public transport access between worker or FIFO camps and key precincts to encour-

connectivity, making

age greater use of town centres

travel between home,

Leverage industry, business or state bus resources to aid transport service provision between key areas

work and leisure easy

Improve roads and paths networks for cycling and walking

and ensuring integration

Develop cycle master plan

between precincts

Implement Active Transport plans for fostering cycling and walking

Link connecting existing coastal path to West End town centre

Extend coastal path along Dempster St and Goode St to Cooke Point

Improve links between Port Hedland, Pretty Pool and South Hedland

Link connecting coastal pathways to West End town centre

STRATEGIES TO ACHIEVE THE GOAL Improve connectivity

ACTION AREAS t

through transport

Develop bike servicing initiative, where old bikes can be donated or purchased, refurbished and placed around town for hire; explore alignment with training for disadvantaged groups

networks (continued)

to undertake maintenance and repairs t

Install bike lockers or lock up areas

Foster mobility and

Encourage bike hire development

connectivity, making

Upgrade existing footpath surfaces

travel between home,

Install bike parking rails at key precinct locations

work and leisure easy

Develop Green Travel or Smart Travel plans for new and existing developments

and ensuring integration

Develop mapping that shows the town and future city as an integrated whole, made up of

between precincts

Connect and engage

varied precincts

the community through

Ensure diverse cultural and social programming is accessible to varied demographics (see cultural capital strategies)

social and cultural

Enhance educational offering (see education strategies above)

activities

Improve accessibility to friends and relatives of residents. encourage promotion of off-peak

Develop community

Increase social and cultural programming (see cultural capital strategies)

networks and

Provide more opportunities to participate in community life (see cultural capital)

‘neighbourliness’

Support neighbourly and community activity; Develop initiatives to encourage people out

or under-capacity ﬂights for discounted fares to enable visitation

of their houses to engage, such as support of community held block parties, support of collaborative street clean ups and beautiﬁcation, street parades and festivals

Ensure capacity of

Overcome water supply constraints (current 3.5 gigalitres supply is at usage capacity)

infrastructure now and

Reduce reliance on potable water with a non-potable water supply scheme

for the future

Investigate establishment of the West Canning Basin

Investigate use of bores or water re-use alternatives, particularly for short stay

Ensure sufﬁcient capacity

accommodation

in our water, power,

Secure allocation of water supply for city growth and economic diversiﬁcation

gas, roads and logistics

Relocate Wastewater Treatment Plant from Port to South Hedland for combined facility upgrade

infrastructure to facilitate

Develop regional storm water management and drainage planning

growth

Alter building construction to account for ﬂood potential and reduce reliance on ﬁll

Increase power capacity with development of 3 additional zone substations (Horizon Power currently exploring locations)

Investigate tidal power generation, and solar power

Install new high voltage feeders to ease existing heavily loaded feeders

Continued use of gas bottles as the most viable current gas supply

Construct Wallwork Road four lane bridge over rail tracks

Develop truck storage and transport hub at Wedgeﬁeld

Upgrade all road bridges into Port Hedland for increased use

Create new road connection into South Hedland from Karratha to facilitate tourist trafﬁc to town centre

By 2021, it is anticipated Wilson and Anderson streets may need expansion. Other potential road upgrades anticipated identiﬁed in the Growth Plan will be monitored.

Investigate intermodal facility for outskirts of town to transfer goods from trucks to rail and reduce road pressures (Long Term)

Encourage local production also to reduce freight pressures (see economic diversiﬁcation strategies)

Investigate and develop an infrastructure funding mechanism, leveraging private sector and industry income streams for investment pools

STRATEGIES TO ACHIEVE THE GOAL

ACTION AREAS

Leverage the natural

assets of the waterfront and coastal areas Making the most of the

public use t

Identify strategies for public use harmonised with port activities

Develop public access marina

Develop greater opportunities for access to ﬁshing or other coastal activities, as a valued

environment in which we live

Develop strategy for waterfront and coastal accessibility, activation and conservation-friendly

community past time and tourism opportunity t

Encourage celebration of water and coastal identity in development, through strong use of waterfront, urban design, Port identity, and natural heritage features

Maximise environmental

Develop coastal foreshore masterplan for boardwalk integration

Facilitate greater access and encourage charter boats, with a view to tourism beneﬁts

Conserve biodiversity and ecosystems including Mangrove ecosystems, Benthic primary

protection and change

producer habitat and marine turtle nesting sites

adaptation

Ensuring that

Undertake coastal and foreshore assessments for development proposals

development and

Develop water management strategies including ground water, capacity assessments, storm

Survey ﬂora and vegetation for areas slated for land development to assess environmental values and requirements for the land

progress happens responsibly

surge and ﬂooding, erosion control. t

Develop leadership group including international and local expertise to develop strategy for sustainability leadership

Invest in experimental showcase projects

Investigate establishment of a marine centre of excellence, leveraging local specialisation in technology, know-how and expertise around various marine specialities such as dredging or other expertise; explore alignment with turtle interpretive centre, leveraging established reputation in this area

Safeguard and enhance

Protect key zones for migratory birds

Ensure Growth Plan strategies for safeguarding long-term growth buffers for airport, port

strategic assets

and rail networks, as well as noise buffers are implemented

Protect and enable future growth ﬂexibility for key assets for the town

Ensure outdoor spaces

are clean and safe Encourage pride of place

Enhance beautiﬁcation and cleanliness of public spaces, to improve perceptions of safety and attractiveness

Embed passive surveillance principles into public spaces

Encourage activation strategies to avoid ‘dead spaces’

Develop a sense of discovery and pride of place by showcasing the riches of the region (see cultural capital strategies)

Implement the Active Open Space Strategy

Provide amenities and a wet area with showers at transient visitors camp

Engage services and support to also be enabled at transient visitors camp

Education in technology and innovation and ancient indigenous history, oceanography, marine biology, engineering, arts and culture, environment, planning, growth. Community Member

International Insight:

RETHINKING EDUCATION Paul Collard Chief Executive of Creativity, Culture and Education, UK

Schools in the northern reaches of Western Australia can face some daunting challenges. Engaging young people in education can be hard when for a variety of reasons the value of that education can be difﬁcult for the pupils to grasp. Academic subjects can seem irrelevant to a young person heading for work in the mining industry or struggling to connect school with their traditional identity. But it would be wrong to think that the problems facing such schools are unique to Western Australia, or that solutions have not been found elsewhere. Experience elsewhere would point to approaches which can improve pupil engagement. Firstly, the major predictor of success in school is the support and engagement of parents. Many children who perform badly in school come from families where the experience of the parents within the education system was frustrating and alienating. These parents often have poor educational skills themselves and feel that they can contribute little to their children’s progress at school. For this reason, schools in England, particularly primary schools, have developed family learning programmes - in school but after school hours where parents and children can come together to explore learning. The approach to education taken in these sessions is very informal, with the sessions

focussing largely around cultural and creative activity. Parents working with their children explore a variety of craft and art skills. Sometime they make visits to local cultural venues. Artists and other cultural practitioners will lead the sessions. The British Government’s school inspection service, Ofsted, produced a report on family learning programmes in 2009 which was very positive on the impact of these programmes. It reported: Family learning programmes had a considerable impact on the achievements of both children and adults. In almost all of the providers surveyed, adults were developing good or very good skills, behaviours and parenting attitudes or were achieving success in gaining qualifications. …. Wider benefits and progression outcomes for adults included increased involvement in school life, gaining employment, and an increased social network. The children’s class teachers reported that since attending family learning, the children had settled better in class, improved relationships with their peers and teachers, and improved their communication, interpersonal skills and self-confidence. The key to this success lay in breaking down the barriers between parents and school, creating a safe space in which parents and children could learn together, and sustained support from school staff to build on the improvements in attitudes and behaviours being displayed by both parents and teachers. In addition to the progress made by children in school, these family learning programmes were also successful to re-engaging parents in their own education with many parents moving on to re enter education and acquire formal qualifications. Secondly, planning lessons around creative projects and giving pupils real responsibility for developing the own learning is key to re-engaging children and young people in their own education. The UK base programme, Creative Partnerships, now being rolled out elsewhere in Europe, has developed an approach which has been shown to engage students and improve their attainment, attendance and behaviour.

Central to this approach is the focus on addressing real school problems, whether poor reading skills in 7 year olds, slow maths progression in 11 yearolds, boys behaviour in the playground or truancy. Specially trained creative professionals work with schools to develop approaches which address the issues identiﬁed and the children and young people play a key role in developing and delivering the projects. Examples of such projects include: t A playwright working with 16 year olds on writing a play about genetic diseases which the pupils were studying for their end of school exams. In addition to devising and performing the play, the project led directly to a 15% improvement in the average exam scores of the children involved. t A story teller working with 6 year olds to help them devise their own stories. Fired up by their own imaginations, children were motivated to develop and then write down their stories, progressing their writing skills through three levels in a single term. t A company with a specialism in writing interactive learning materials, training 12 year olds to create interactive learning materials which made the geography interesting to their peers. In addition to developing sophisticated digital skills, the children were motivated to mastering the geography curriculum and scored highly in the end of year exams. t A company specialising in making and operating life size puppets create a puppet who visited the playground of a primary school with signiﬁcant behaviour problems among the boys and worked with them in the playground to bring about a dramatic improvement in their behaviour.

participated in Creative Partnerships activities out-perform the national average in the national tests taken at 12 and 16 years of age. (NFER – 2007) Schools in challenging circumstances - those with a higher than average proportion of pupils eligible for free schools meals, low attainment on entry and high rates of pupil mobility - showed the greatest improvements in pupils’ ability. (Ofsted 2010) That Creative Partnerships had demonstrated how even the most reluctant pupils could be engaged and excited. (Ofsted 2010)

In all cases, the work of Creative Partnerships places the unlocking of creativity among children and young people at the heart of its practice, and the development of their imagination, resilience, collaboration, focus and curiosity. These later skills are highly prized by contemporary employers and develop the skills which not only underpin successful learning but will be preparing children and young people for success in the 21st century.

Photo by Kathy Neylon, 2008

Almost every project undertaken by the Creative Partnership programme has been different. They are driven by the speciﬁc needs and opportunities that exist in each school. But collectively they have been evaluated and assessed in major independent research programmes which have shown that: t Despite coming from economically and socially challenged communities, young people who have

INTERNATIONAL GATEWAY: Becoming a leading Port City and Gateway to Asia, Australia and the World. Our geographic positioning brings with it enormous opportunity that is currently under-utilised. Central in the Australasian region, at the heart of the increasingly pivotal Asia-Paciﬁc that will be the focus of our international relations, Port Hedland is in a strong location to be a connection point between Australia and our closest neighbours. As the world’s largest bulk tonnage export port, the town is naturally a site of connection internationally. Already, shipping routes connect us to over 31 countries around the world, with top destinations for our ships including China, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, Taiwan, Malaysia, Australia. Our key trading partners also sit within the same Asia-Paciﬁc, with China by far our biggest market for resources.

All of these factors make it very important that we build strong and resilient relationships with these countries, and can show leadership as good neighbours in the region. We need to consider ourselves not only a City of Neighbours within our community, but demonstrate that we can extend that neighbourly spirit to our international collaborators as well. We have the opportunity to re-position ourselves in the broader Asia-Paciﬁc neighbourhood. This also offers the potential to help us become more economically, socially and culturally resilient with richer and broader connections in the region. Building relationships at the end of the day comes down to developing interactions with people

International connections: Already Port Hedland’s role as a port town connects us around the world. This map shows destinations and countries of origin for vessels using the port. 60

and building understanding of one another. Cultural diplomacy is about the development of understanding between places. Developing programs of cultural exchange between key countries will be one means of growing that understanding. Using the current economic and employment opportunities to embrace a talent exchange or circulation could simultaneously bring advantages for the need for skilled employees. As we seek to develop leading education nodes in the town, there is also the potential for knowledge and learning networks to be developed. To begin to re-position ourselves, we will also need to ﬁnd ways to ‘put ourselves on the map’. Signalling our intentions to become a player deserving of

national and even international note beyond purely economic reasons will require projects that set the bar high on quality and innovation. As part of the growth planning process, we have the particular opportunity to ensure our built form, architecture and design of the growing city make a splash with signature projects, design that is authentic and shows off the riches of the region, and innovation to develop place and climate relevant design solutions. Already, Port Hedland is home to a stunning landscape, one of the oldest in the world, and leading Indigenous art produced by some of the world’s longest continuing cultures, for example. Now we have the chance to demonstrate the riches of the North West to the world.

Air trafﬁc: The range of ﬂight connections with Port Hedland has been increasing, making the town more accessible. 61

STRATEGIES TO ACHIEVE THE GOAL

ACTION AREAS

Reposition Port Hedland

as an international

Build on port, resources sector, historical and other relationships with neighbouring countries to develop richer cultural ties

gateway, to Asia and into

Develop cultural diplomacy networks and build exchange relationships

Australia

Develop knowledge networks

Develop international standard cultural infrastructure

Foster greater travel connections to and from Port Hedland (see airport development

Capture opportunity for competitive advantage

strategies)

through strategic

Explore opportunities to strengthen and diversify trade and business relationships

positioning of the

Investigate the value of developing sister city relationships into Asia and with port cities

town, with beneﬁts for commerce, reputation,

connected with Port Hedland through shipping routes; align with school programs t

and connectedness

Draw on distinctiveness to also develop as a gateway into the North West region, the desert and landscape

Leverage this regional gateway positioning for related research and education centre (for instance leveraging specializations in desert knowledge, biodiversity, anthropology, operating in remote regions). See also education strategies

Showcase the port as a

Develop a marketing and positioning strategy, aiming to be at least a national level strategy

leading example of what

Promote distinctive qualities of the town and region (such as light quality, wide open spaces,

a contemporary port city can be

landscape, cultural heritage, coastal positioning, unique capabilities) t

Explore opportunities for innovative industrial tourism

Develop iconic installations or vantage points, presenting an attractive view of the port and

Demonstrate

industry. For instance, lighting installations, Marapikurrinya Park viewing platform, or other

leadership in re-

initiatives could be used to showcase the port or related infrastructure in a dynamic and

deﬁning Port Hedland as a cosmopolitan,

appealing way t

community-minded, leading port city

Embrace multi-culturalism and a cosmopolitan character in the community and place development, and programming

Develop and demonstrate leadership on key local strengths and key challenges, such as sustainability and environmental management, community building, logistics and port operations, or technological innovation to support operations in remote and challenging locations (see economic diversiﬁcation strategies). See also education and economic diversiﬁcation strategies above. For instance, develop a leadership group including international and local expertise to develop strategy for sustainability leadership

Invest in experimental showcase projects

Align with high school entrepreneurship initiative (see education strategies) for collaboration between students with a professional photographer who can produce an outcome beneﬁcial for promotion of distinctive qualities of the region

See also waterfront and coastal engagement strategies above

See also cultural capital strategies below

STRATEGIES TO ACHIEVE THE GOAL

ACTION AREAS

Upgrade the airport

to reﬂect the regions identity and its ambitions

Upgrade airport infrastructure with short term improvements made over the 1-2 year interim period and signiﬁcant upgrades undertaken over 5-8 year horizon

Reﬂect distinctive local identity in the airport

Ensure a welcoming experience is provided at the airport, and enhance the information and

Develop an airport of a

support provided at this arrival point

standard that can aid and

Enhance connections to destinations in North West Australia and Asia

articulate Port Hedland’s

Leverage the planned establishment of freight connections to Singapore for passenger

role as an international

connections

gateway and leading port city

Grow high-value tourism

Develop and position as an international gateway for backpackers

opportunities

Improve viability of backpacker and traveller visitation and medium term stays

Develop housing and accommodation for visitors

Develop broad economic

Aid in connecting tourism with service industry work

and community beneﬁts

Investigate, identify and encourage high yield tourism markets that offer value across key

of a strong tourism

dimensions such as economic beneﬁt, reputation-building advantage, exchange value,

industry, grounded in

support of local business and services For instance, further investigation is required across

authentic, distinctive

business traveller, cultural tourism, intrepid traveller, domestic extended stay, sailing, leisure

experiences of the region

tourism, cruise ships and other tourist markets to identify those that offer greatest economic, cultural, exchange and promotional value and focus efforts there t

Ensure a strong tourism experience and offering can be provided

Investigate range of potential tourism offerings not currently being leveraged, such as being a launch point for the Coral Coast and Rowley Shoals

Investigate alignment with existing WA sailing events, such as the Fremantle to Bali Yacht Race

Upgrade Visitors Centre and grow strategic hubs (main centre in Port Hedland complemented by a hub at the airport and information touch points in South Hedland)

Explore touchscreen technologies to enable information and exploration of region in airport or key visitor centre nodes

Mapping and identiﬁcation of tourism offering

Develop collaborations between local government, Tourism departments, and local business for common goals

Implement accreditation scheme with operators to ensure quality, and foster training and skills development for hospitality and tourism businesses

CULTURAL CAPITAL: Becoming the cultural capital of the NorthWest

Photo by Andy Taylor, 2009

As part of our consultation and conversations with you, there were two themes that you as a community most often stated as what differentiates Port Hedland in the region: t that Port Hedland is the friendliest place; t Port Hedland is the cultural heart. The ﬁrst of these themes is part of what has given rise to Port Hedland as a City of Neighbours. The second positions the town very well to capture the niche of Cultural Capital of the North West. Already, residents of the broader Pilbara region travel to Port Hedland regularly for speciﬁc cultural and social events, exhibitions, the markets and to enjoy the West End precinct including the Courthouse Gallery and the Silver Star cafe. This cultural amenity is providing a draw card regionally. But there is the opportunity to grow these isolated instances into a much greater identity for the town. Currently the Courthouse Gallery is the only public gallery in the North West. Research of the gallery and cultural amenity offering in the North West highlights a lack of such amenity beyond small commercial outlets. Yet you as a community have expressed a strong desire to showcase the riches of the North West: 83% of you believe it is either essential for life or a valuable approach. You have expressed a desire for more cultural and social activity, markets, and events, as well as an eagerness to leverage the high school’s art specialisation. You have also made clear how much you value the social, leisure, and recreation aspects of your community life. Developing Port Hedland as the Cultural Capital further presents a means of addressing several needs of the town, including:

Developing a greater loyalty and attachment to place to attract and retain people in the region.x Studies have shown social opportunities, particularly cultural life and arts activities, to be one of 3 vital factors for improving loyalty to a

t t

place.12 And you have expressed a desire for more social and cultural life, more activities on offer. Developing tourism opportunities as a means to attract more visitors and diversify the economy. Encouraging more opportunities for local creatives, entrepreneurs and emerging microbusinesses. This will be important for economic diversification as well, and for eventually growing more of the small businesses and retail you have asked for. Creativity and entrepreneurialism will be important to generating the greater choice you are looking for. Supporting and developing creativity will be essential to innovation. Greater innovation in the town could bring benefits across a range of challenges in need of innovation, such as sustainability, education, new technologies for competitive advantage and more. Building a stronger future. Research on regional Australia has shown that the arts play an important role in regional communities.13 Yet Port Hedland’s arts sector has been diminishing due to the difficulties of housing and funding staff in this field.14 Studies have also shown that neighbourhoods that have more cultural offerings revitalise quicker than those without.15 And importantly for our priorities as a town with high numbers of young families, creativity and cultural participation have been shown to have significant benefits for the confidence, adaptability, life skills, dedication, and leadership qualities of our kids.16

This combination of needs and your priorities as a community make this an important strategy that brings with it enormous opportunity. And it is a niche yet to be captured in the region. Of all North West towns, Broome may be the closest competitor, yet currently it is better known as a leisure and coastal tourism destination. Becoming the Cultural Capital of the North West would distinguish Port Hedland in a way that also reﬂects the characteristics of which you are most proud.

Photo by Samantha Bell, West End Markets, 2011

SUCCESSFUL CREATIVE PLACEMAKING ‘Creative placemaking animates public and private spaces, rejuvenates structures and streetscapes, improves local business viability and public safety, and brings diverse people together to celebrate, inspire and be inspired.’ 17 In a recent study that examined the value of creative placemaking and explored the keys to success in these endeavours, 6 components of successful strategies were identiﬁed. These components were common factors across a range of efforts in different places that had proven to be successful. Successful efforts were:

t t t t t t

Prompted by an initiator with innovative vision and drive (initiators could come from any sector) Tailored strategies to distinctive features of place Able to mobilise public will Able to attract private sector buy-in Enjoyed the support of local arts and cultural leaders Built partnerships across sectors, missions, and levels of government 18

STRATEGIES TO ACHIEVE THE GOAL

ACTION AREAS

Enhance civic character

Develop place, cultural and built form vernacular or design guidelines

and pride through

Develop a public art strategy, and public art of a high standard that engages or is reﬂective

distinctive and quality

of the community or region

built environment

Ensure the urban

Support precinct identity and character provisions in town planning scheme by convenants on land releases and demonstration housing partnerships

form reﬂects its

Celebrate iconic infrastructure by transforming these into iconic cultural markers. For instance enlivening the water tower with high quality urban art

place, community and aspirations

Build cultural recreation

infrastructure that matches

Conﬁrm iconic sites for outstanding public buildings and seek or support international standard developments for needed infrastructure. For example:

the town’s ambition to be a

Marapikurrinya Park upgrade

world class city

West End Commercial and Cultural Precinct development

Marquee Park

South Hedland Skate Park

Become a place known for the quality of its

Ensure design and quality standards for key buildings and developments

cultural infrastructure

Investigate cultural centre for the West End and capture niche market for a leading gallery

Upgrade theatre infrastructure

Provide a key contact and support for cultural organisations within Town of Port Hedland

Develop attractive public

Improve quality of maintenance of garden, landscape and park areas

spaces and public realm

Improve beautiﬁcation of key public spaces

Improve street enhancements and upgrades in key precinct areas (Wedge Street upgrade set

Maintain a quality public

for 2012; South Hedland Town Centre upgrades in progress)

realm that can contribute

Marapikurrinya park upgrade and coastal access (see waterfront strategies)

to community enjoyment,

Explore potential for Pretty Pool Park upgrade to transform existing amenities block into

interaction and attachment to place

small hospitality site t

Invest in low barrier activation and improvement initiatives - for instance, urban artworks, temporary or ephemeral public artworks, programming, pop up event spaces etc

Enable temporary activation or beautiﬁcation of areas awaiting longer term development

Leverage experiments with low barrier, temporary initiatives to test and prototype longer term development opportunities that can then be undertaken with greater conﬁdence

Support community led projects or transformations

Ensure urban planning enables permeability of built form and linkages between public or open spaces

Combine permeability and linking of public spaces with street art strategy or festival

Develop enticing public realm and laneway spaces that will maximise open public space activation yet provide the climate shelter necessary. For instance develop Glass Lane activation;

Invest in urban, street and public art to enliven public realm

Develop lighting strategy that can ensure perceptions of safety while also aiding beautiﬁcation strategies

Upgrade old Port Hedland Cemetery

STRATEGIES TO ACHIEVE THE GOAL

ACTION AREAS

Promote participation

in community life and enhance accessibility

Initial concentration of activities in key centres to gain economies of scale and critical mass of activity to aid vibrancy – West End, Youth Zone, South Hedland

Ensure walkable key centres and neighbourhood areas

Encourage shops with connections, shade and walkability between them that will aid

Foster positive social

activation, rather than malls

and cultural capital and

Public transport linked with key activity areas

enable and encourage

Engage residents of workers camps in diverse town programming for greater social

participation in a rewarding community life

interaction and use of small businesses t

Develop program of community service recognition or awards and leadership development

Build program of events and activities that foster interaction and exchange

Build on the success of existing events and programs

Develop consortia or a collaborative to lead strategy and programming around key activity centre precincts, the West End and South Hedland

Build social capital through events and programs that mix people in non-threatening and positive circumstances to break down social divides

Multi-cultural programming to build inclusiveness, such as food festivals and intercultural events

Develop multicultural festival including food and ﬁlm

Continue to support development of the regular markets event

Develop an Indigenous Reconciliation Action Plan

Develop a city known

Support cultural infrastructure for public access and engagement

for its culture and

Support cultural programming such as outdoor movies, social events, performances, festivals,

creativity, with increased

exhibitions, music etc

participation in creative

Scope and map cultural, creative, community assets and current ecology

engagement

Promote creative skills development programs

Create places to allow creativity and culture to ﬂourish

Cultural facilities development strategy with program of community and cultural facility

Generate a pervasive culture of creativity and

upgrades

entrepreneurialism, and

Programs to preserve languages and preserve links to unique Western Desert cultures

encourage accessible

Build links between research centres, Wangka Maya and WA Museum to promote heritage

opportunities for

and local stories

participation and creative

Support of proactive artists and arts groups demonstrating promise

development

Development of business centre (see economic diversiﬁcation strategies)

Invest in the quality of events, and ensure diversity of events to enhance inclusiveness

Investing in the capacity of organisers

Provision of common marketing and support services for community groups, associations and NGO’s

Investing in the capacity of creatives

STRATEGIES TO ACHIEVE THE GOAL

ACTION AREAS

Develop a city known

for its culture and

Support or networking programs for creative practitioners and entrepreneurs to encourage innovation or micro-enterprise development; seed funding available to support development

creativity, with increased

of concepts or new works

participation in creative

Support of education and skills development

engagement

Support or invest in program of arts, creative, entrepreneur projects including markets, new

Generate a pervasive

venture supports culture of creativity and

Support the community to engage in projects for activities or public space improvements (often known as ‘small wins’)

entrepreneurialism, and

Incorporate Indigenous place names into town navigation where appropriate

encourage accessible

Encourage ad hoc and unplanned events by ensuring regulation enables activation

opportunities for

Demonstrate leadership in cultural development, production and expression by aiming for

participation and creative development

high quality outcomes or delivery t

Develop a strategic cultural plan for the town

Ensure a calendar of regular and frequent events, promoted through dynamic and easy to

(Continued)

access website managed through a marketing or programming specialist t

Encourage development of live music growth, linking with backpacker, tourism and regional collaboration strategies to attract quality acts to complement local talent

Develop a distinctive and

Develop a place identity and communication strategy

vibrant local environment

Build on local strengths and characteristics

Celebrate cultural, natural, historical or community features of the region

Map and promote Indigenous and non-Indigenous heritage and sites of importance through

Foster a distinctive identity and niche

interpretive signage, mapping, public artwork or other means

for Port Hedland that

Develop story capturing and story-telling initiatives including place making or public art initiatives

celebrates its heritage,

Enable innovations for preservation and expression in contemporary forms

culture, environment and

Interpretive and informational signage identifying and connecting key cultural, heritage,

community values

Indigenous or historical sites t

Explore feasibility of an Indigenous cultural and research institute in the town centre precinct

Celebrate and give visibility to the 72 nationalities that make up Port Hedland

Develop a high proﬁle festival; explore possible focuses of festival such as multi-cultural, food, or digital focus

Celebrate regional desert communities. Explore opportunities for respectful showcase of these cultures to enhance understanding through innovative means, such as fusing some of world’s oldest cultures with digital technology and design

Foster boutique bars and hospitality for broader demographic appeal; develop distinctive hospitality using low cost, accessible local industrial infrastructure such as sea containers

Align distinctive hospitality or alfresco dining opportunities with live or street music, or public art strategies

Celebrate the history of Port Hedland and incorporate into place making strategies through public art and heritage interpretation

Photo by Faye Harris, 2010.

Local Insight:

ADDRESSING LAND AND HOUSING NEEDS: THE LANDCORP CONTRIBUTION Ross Holt CEO, LandCorp

The Pilbara region has emerged as a vital part of the economic and social future for Australia. The surge in resources demand emanating from China, coupled with strong Government commitment to Pilbara Cities and the game-changing Royalties for Regions initiative has provided a once in a lifetime opportunity to address urgent infrastructure and social needs and to create a different, more sustainable, future for Hedland. LandCorp as the State development agency is committing to lift land supply and housing by working with the Town of Port Hedland, other Government agencies and particularly with private development partners. The opportunities in the Pilbara and the massive public and private investment underway are already catalysing private sector interest that will be essential. A sample of the initiatives through which LandCorp is working to support greater supply, diversity and quality of developments include:

t t t t t

t t

Preparing 600ha of residential land in East Port Hedland and South Hedland to encourage development Development of 350 houses in Pretty Pool Delivering the New Living Program in South Hedland Boosting industrial land supply to support economic growth in WedgeďŹ eld and Boodarie Attracting homeowners to the Pilbara region and encouraging greater diversity of housing options through the LandCorp Housing Display Village in Karratha Facilitating the $125 million Mirvac development of a mixed hotel, short stay and residential development opposite the Spoil Bank Proposing the Spoil Bank marina development and adjoining redevelopment of the former Port Hedland hospital site to aid revitalisation of the area Transformation of the South Hedland Town Centre, with higher density apartment living, access to cafes and an expansion and refurbishment of the shopping centre all expected to be underway in 2012. The revitalisation will also include a range of private residential, commercial, short-stay accommodation and retail/ hospitality options

The clear objective is to enhance the experience of the town, putting in place the foundations for the already proud community not only to embrace it as their long term home â&#x20AC;&#x201C; but to attract new people, employment and enterprises to the region.

REGIONAL COLLABORATOIN Planning for the future of Port Hedland, as one of the key twin cities of the Pilbara Cities strategy, must take into account broader regional planning. An essential question is how we will best work together with our regional neighbours. While a little friendly competition is healthy, as the twin cities that are expected to become the leading lights for the region it will be particularly important for Port Hedland and Karratha to become complementary collaborators. Although both towns are aiming for substantial populations in their own right, there will be some infrastructure and services that simply could not viably be duplicated in both places. And while we are each still growing and don’t yet have the population needed to support some features of city life, we will need each other for that critical mass. Both cities will ultimately also be hubs for other nearby towns. An essential part of the implementation planning phase, therefore must explore how we can work

together and how we will complement each other. Through your feedback and through the growth plan research, we already know that you consider Port Hedland to be the stronger cultural hub and Karratha the stronger commercial or retail hub. Although a certain level of cultural amenity and commercial activity will be needed in both places, when it comes to the big infrastructure perhaps we need to focus on each city’s niche and enable its ‘twin’ city to share in the beneﬁts. For instance, an iconic international standard gallery could not be supported in both locations. However, there is a lack of public gallery access in the North West, so one is needed to support this broad region of the State. If Port Hedland were to develop a leading gallery, how could we build connections for Karratha to leverage off this too, so that it becomes a regional showcase? Or if Karratha were to attract a university, how could Port Hedland link to this to raise its education and research opportunities? Similarly, as neighbouring regions, the Pilbara and Kimberley could gain from collaborating on mutual goals such as tourism. These opportunities to collaborate with our regional neighbours by looking at the ways we complement each other will be vital to explore further in the implementation planning and strategy delivery for Port Hedland’s growth. Some of the things we need to grow will only be possible through collaboration. Let’s keep this in mind for our ongoing planning efforts.

CONSIDERATIONS FOR IMPLEMENTATION PLANNING: FUNDING FOR THE LONG TERM Delivery of the Growth Plan will require considerable funding to support the outcomes identified, particularly with regards to the development of infrastructure and the delivery of on-going community development and economic development programs. We are currently in a period where we have the benefit of focused Royalties for Regions and Pilbara Cities funds, as well as strong support from agencies like the Pilbara Development Commission, LandCorp and the resource sector. However, with the trend by Local, State and Federal governments away from on-going funding commitments and a shift towards co-funding and public private partnerships, it is important to understand that funding from Government alone is not likely to guarantee the total investment required for the Growth Plan, nor a commitment to on-going funding. All but the most fundamental civic projects will need to demonstrate the potential to be financially self-sustaining. Funding maintenance has already proven itself to be an issue of concern and strategies need to be developed to address that. A number of funding options are considered in the following sections that may be considered further as part of the implementation planning for the Growth Plan. Whilst this list is not exhaustive, it reflects a few of the more common options and is intended as a start to exploration and discussion.

Developer Contributions The West Australian State Government has developed a framework for developer contributions that can be used to support the provision of infrastructure. This is outlined in State Planning Policy 3.6. The policy sets out the principles and considerations that apply to development contributions for the provision of infrastructure, and the form, content and process to be followed. Developer contributions are a well-established model for direct funding of infrastructure, although are less commonly used to fund the provision of programs and services. Developer contributions would need careful consideration as they can potentially increase issues relating to affordability, which is already a significant challenge for Port Hedland. Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) Business Improvement Districts are a type of public private partnership that operate at a local level and are typically focused upon revitalisation and economic development within local business precincts. A model for BIDS consists of local businesses paying a levy that is put towards improvements. The proceeds of the levy are typically managed by a either private or non-profit organisation to fulfil local outcomes.

Business Sponsorship and Corporate Citizenship Some programs and services can be funded through voluntary sponsorship schemes where a mutual benefit can be identified for the sponsor and the community. A simple but commonly seen example includes offering naming rights for key infrastructure facilities (particularly sporting venues). The challenge for this type of revenue stream is quantifying fair business value to the sponsor and the uncertainty of maintaining revenue over an extended period. Crowd-sourcing A more contemporary approach to funding for specific schemes, particularly for smaller community projects, involves crowd-sourcing. Crowd sourcing relies on philanthropic giving of small amounts by an on-line community using the benefits and reach of on-line technologies. This method can be effective for smaller one-off community based projects but is high-risk due to the uncertainty of gaining sufficient support.

applied to support speciﬁc on-going activities (e.g. sale or rent of land). Other Public Private Partnerships There are also examples of other public/private partnerships that can be used to help support outcomes in the Growth Plan. For example, government may guarantee to lease part of a commercial building – providing security for a developer that can be leveraged for a developer to invest in further developing enhanced outcomes (e.g. providing additional rentable space). Equally government may support developers with identifying and securing key anchor tenants through incentive schemes particularly where it is in the broader interests of the region.

State and Federal Funding Whilst State and Federal funding is generally the source of choice for significant project and program investments, government is increasingly looking for an element of matched cash and inkind contributions from third parties. In addition, government funding is increasingly unlikely to be available for specific programs or projects on an ongoing or indefinite basis, instead requiring projects to demonstrate their capacity to become self-funding. Utilisation of Government Assets It is common for State and Local Government to have control and/or ownership of land and buildings that may be vacant or under-utilised. These assets can be made available for use or sale. Under-utilised assets may be put to use either directly to support initiatives (e.g. to build a business incubator) or to provide more stable funding streams that can be

FIRST STEPS So now that we have identiﬁed where you want to go and some ways in which we might get there, how will we know that action is in motion and that this planning hasn’t just been ﬁled on a dusty shelf? Given that not all the changes needed to lay the foundations for growth will be highly visible, it is important for us to keep up clear communication, and ensure there is visible action on what we have decided together is important. Here we explore and highlight for you some of the actions that can be taken as interim steps toward the bigger vision. We hope this will help all of us maintain our momentum from this visioning and planning process. Your enthusiasm and positivity for the transformations that are to come are valued enormously.

The table over the page identifies suggestions on short term actions that will be explored further during implementation planning to shortlist and refine these next steps. These are some of the priority activities and quick wins that would be strong next steps to get in motion in the first 1-5 years. These actions have been selected for one of 3 reasons: because you told us it was a priority; or because they are actions that deal with issues you have indicated are of particular importance and that will be central to the town’s success; or they are actions that would aid progress and have relatively low barriers or strong momentum to achieve them.

1 YEAR HORIZON

3 YEAR HORIZON

5 YEAR HORIZON

Indigenous Reconciliation Plan developed Plan and develop coastal walkway linking key sites

Multi-purpose recreation centre developed

Interim preliminary upgrades of the

Comprehensive upgrade of the

airport as a welcoming gateway

evocative of the region

evocative of the region and a marker of international ambition

Increase public transport or

Increase public transport services

Further increase public transport

demand-driven services between

between Port and South and key

services between Port and South

Port and South

precincts

and key precincts

Improve communication of public transport services and timetables, enhancing perceptions of serviced provision

Develop small business and creative practice supports: t

Support micro-business development programs

Support of skills development

Improve business centre services availability

Build on successful existing business development programs

Develop home-based business strategy

Continue the West End markets, and invest in expanding one market per year as a larger festival featuring multi-cultural food

Implement Active Transport plans

for improved cycling and walking

1 YEAR HORIZON

3 YEAR HORIZON

5 YEAR HORIZON

Develop university linkages and

Begin to grow leading international

explore viability of a research centre

research centres supported by

to be based in the town focused on

innovative collaborations between

innovation leveraging core areas of

academia, industry and government

strength for the region

showing leadership on fundamental 21st Century challenges

Improve learning environments and

Program developed to explore ways

Develop the schools as leading state

enhance opportunities for students;

to offer greater cultural learning

examples of innovative and quality

and develop program to leverage art

opportunities linked with education

education

specialisation in the high school.

for Indigenous youth

Explore innovative education

programs that can improve learning

opportunities and outcomes,

including ways to engage the broader

community; Explore entrepreneurship

skills development initiatives

Development of Mirvac hotel and town site in the West End or alternative development for the site

Development of old hospital site in the West End

Release of 5 sites in South Hedland City Centre Precinct

South Hedland Skate Park redevelopment

South Hedland Aquatic Centre upgrade

South Hedland Bowls and Tennis Club developed

Colin Matheson Club House to be launched

Upgrade of Matt Dann Cultural Centre and theatre infrastructure

1 YEAR HORIZON

3 YEAR HORIZON

5 YEAR HORIZON

Development of South Hedland City Centre hotel site and mixed use residential sites

Development of coastal access strategies for Port Hedland town and surrounds

Completion of South Hedland City Centre upgrades

Marquee Park development launched Upgrade of Wedge Street scaping, accessibility and beautiďŹ cation with place responsive design

Marrapikurrinya Park upgrade

West End Cultural and Commercial Precinct complex development

Develop programming which builds connections with our international regional neighbours and trading partners

Develop improved maintenance and

Develop partnerships for more

cleaning plans for public spaces,

effective delivery of public space

including beautiďŹ cation strategies

maintenance

Establish infrastructure funding mechanism, leveraging private and industry investment for long term funds

Develop place and cultural vernacular to inform built form design guidelines

Develop broad Communication and

Develop and implement broad

Implement broad Communication

Place Perception-Change strategy

Communication and Place

and Place Perception-Change

Perception-Change strategy

strategy

The following examples represent a small selection of case study projects to illustrate what some of the actions and strategies being explored could translate to. What do they mean for our community in everyday terms? While not comprehensive, these examples indicate action and real outcomes are on the way. The following 3 projects represent initiatives that have strong support or approvals already in place, and could be delivered in the near term.

A DESTINATION AIRPORT One of the initiatives indicated as a priority for you as a community across various consultation was the importance of upgrading the airport to better reflect the significance of the town as a hub, its growing international connections, and the character of the region. The airport is seen as a marker of the town’s ambition and there is strong support for developing this as an appropriate gateway. The Growth Plan has recommended an International Airport Masterplan be developed as part of the implementation planning phase following on from the Growth Plan. The opportunity to make the airport a sustainable energy precinct and a ‘Green Gateway’ is identified as a means of making a statement about Port Hedland’s innovation and green ambitions. It will also be vital that the airport welcomes arrivals to a place resonant with the character and culture of the region.

SPORTING AND LEISURE With the aim of achieving the same sporting and leisure opportunities for Port Hedland as for those who live in the metropolitan areas, the Town of Port Hedland intends to encourage: t Shared use of high quality sporting and recreation amenities t Sustainable clubs and community groups t Diverse range of sporting and leisure opportunities t Attraction of world class events t Planned delivery of sporting facilities and public open space t Development of sporting academies t Nurturing of school club linkages (state government initiative Kids Sport) t The range of leisure options t The quality of leisure community spaces t Regional opportunities t Enhanced participation levels t Health and well being beneﬁts of activity and green spaces t Lifestyle options accessible by the community - Town of Port Hedland Strategic Plan One example of efforts to contribute to this is the development of a new multi-purpose recreation centre in South Hedland. As an amenity that you have expressed a desire for, this centre will bring additional recreational opportunities for the community and is planned to open in early 2012.

A CITY THAT ENGAGES ITS YOUTH Port Hedland will be a youthful city in more ways than one – as a growing place that will become a new regional city, as a place with a spirited energy and optimism, and of course as a place with a significant number of young families. Your feedback has reinforced that ensuring Port Hedland is family friendly is vital. That makes engaging and providing opportunities for our youth essential. As part of the growth planning we will need to ensure that not only youth activities and amenities are provided for, but that the urban development reflects the importance of our youth and aids integration of activity across generations. One example that takes this approach and demonstrates the commitment to ensuring our youth are an integral part of the future city is the South Hedland Youth Space and Skate Park. The Town of Port Hedland has worked with specialists Convic and the community to design an accessible recreational area that integrates seamlessly with the urban revitalisation that will take place in South Hedland and other nearby amenities such as the aquatic centre. The skate park is the centre piece of the design, and will embrace a range of skill and age levels. Yet the skate park is set within a range of other activity areas, landscaping and wayfinding that enables parents and other community members to also enjoy the space in their own ways, keep an eye on their kids without making them feel hampered and provide a variety of recreation opportunities in the town centre.

Yulia Shepilova, 2008

Although still in preliminary stages of thinking, the following 2 examples suggest projects where initial scoping has been undertaken and support has been indicated but considerably more work needs to be done to assess feasibility and confirm these will go ahead. However, they are shown here simply to give you an indication of the level of quality we can aim for, explore how we could work toward our 3 big opportunities, and provide a sample of what together we could aim for in the future.

QUALITY PUBLIC SPACES AND COASTAL CONNECTION Coastal access and connection has been highlighted as one of the areas you would like to see made more accessible, with well designed, beautiful spaces to enjoy the waterfront. Preliminary proposals have begun to be explored for the development of coastal connections along the water’s edge linking key sites and the different neighbourhoods of Port Hedland. Initial groundwork is being undertaken to explore the upgrade of Marapikurrinya Park with the aim of facilitating greater connectivity between the West End centre and the water, embracing the Port as a distinctive feature of the town with viewing areas, enabling access to the water and mangroves, and enhancing the park itself. This could be one node of a broader coastal connections project to link up walkways and access along the coastline, connecting key sites like Marapikurrinya Park, Cemetery Beach and Cooke Point.

This makes the Park a prime symbolic opportunity to address the community’s desire for improved access to the coast, waterfront and mangroves, and act as an anchoring site for a more extended connective spine along the coast for walkways or boardwalks linking coastal sites. This is also particularly critical for the Indigenous community, whose stories in showcases like Before the Town Got Big express a yearning for re-connection with the mangroves and water.17 As a broad community you also identiﬁed a desire for improved parks, recreational and public spaces, particularly with beautiﬁcation of the spaces and enhanced maintenance.

Marapikurrinya Park is a signiﬁcant site for Port Hedland. Through the name of this key public park, the title given to Port Hedland by the Kariyarra is honoured and recognised. The word Marapikurrinya references the ﬁnger-like formation of the tidal creeks that mark the coastline of the harbour and characterise the area.

DEVELOPING SIGNIFICANT CULTURAL AMENITY & ARCHITECTURE ‘Even more significant than its capacity to improve quality of life for all Pilbara residents, arts and cultural infrastructure is an essential ingredient for economic development opportunities outside of the resource sector.’ 19 To capitalise on the opportunity of becoming the Cultural Capital of the North West, Port Hedland needs to consider how it will signal its ambition and capture this niche. To lead in this area, significant cultural projects that demonstrate leadership should be established. One example of such an initiative is the proposed project to develop a cultural complex that has emerged as a result of community demand for greater cultural life and is supported by government and industry. The West End Commercial and Cultural Precinct development poses an opportunity for Port Hedland to establish a vibrant, attractive and stimulating concentration of business, hospitality and cultural activity in the heart of the West End with an iconic design reflective of the Pilbara. The focus of the precinct will be to provide leading gallery facilities to showcase the best of the region’s Indigenous art and contemporary photography, with a vision of attracting international audiences and talent to the Pilbara. Aboriginal art in particular provides Australia with significant international recognition and figures highly in the nation’s identity, as well as providing an opportunity for Indigenous people to engage with the mainstream economy in a way that is culturally relevant and sustainable. To

complement the gallery the precinct will also include a conference facility with capacity for 200 people, two working studios for professionals or specialistsin-residence, a retail space, restaurant and bar, open public spaces and a 2100sqm four-storey commercial building. Global architecture firm HASSELL has designed a preliminary conceptual scheme for the development, drawing influence from the organic topography of Port Hedland’s iconic tidal formations. The cluster of buildings that comprise the cultural heart of the precinct is surrounded by a membrane structure made of Corten steel. By day, the structure protects and shades the buildings and spaces underneath, its perforated surface allowing light to filter through into the surrounding under crofts. By night, the internal light penetrates out through the building’s exterior skin, transforming the precinct into a glowing beacon. This opportunity has also been informed and supported by the community’s feedback on its desire to better ‘showcase the riches of the northwest’, to ensure a quality built form with place relevant and diverse architecture, and to better engage with the waterfront. The proposal for an iconic development has also arisen from the impetus to develop tourism as one means of economic diversification. It further responds to the Growth Plan’s intention to build on the West End as the key cultural centre of the town.

Proposed concept for West End Commercial and Cultural Precinct by Hassell for FORM, 2011

WHAT CAN YOU DO? Here are some ways you can contribute to shaping the future of Port Hedland according to the plans youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve helped map out:

As a funding body, you can

As a community member, you can

t t t t t

Vote with your feet: attend or participate in the activities or actions you want to see more of. Keep communications open with your elected Council and support keeping the vision in motion. Advocate your support of projects that will aid your vision. Participate: the rich community and social life you are seeking will be built primarily on the interactions between yourself and other community members. So participate. Co-create: help kickstart or contribute to some of the small transformations you would like to see in your town. Sometimes all it takes is a little time and enthusiasm.

Contribute resources to identiďŹ ed actions, which represent opportunities for investment or collaboration Prioritise support for those things that contribute to achieving the goals laid out here and in the Growth Plan

As a government ofďŹ cer, you can

t t

Ensure regulation and planning is structured to work toward achieving the goals set out here (and ensure that regulation can get out of the way of contributors trying to help get there) Prioritise support for those things that contribute to achieving the goals laid out here and in the Growth Plan Use the guiding framework outlined here by the community to focus your priorities for giving or contributions

As a business owner or representative, you can

And all citizens of Port Hedland can

Contribute resources to actions you support: the actions outlined represent opportunities for investment or collaboration Use the guiding framework outlined here by the community to focus your priorities for giving or contributions

Bear with us through the transition! We appreciate your positivity.

Photo by Bobbi Coldicott, 2010

THANKYOU Your input into this process has been invaluable as we work together to shape the Port Hedland of the future that we envision it could be. Thank you for sharing your insights, knowledge and priorities. Thank you to those of you who contributed your insights, feedback and input into the growth planning process and shaping this planning for the future. We know there are also many more of you than listed here who prefer to remain unnamed but your contribution is appreciated.

Kasia Adamczyk Rex Addison Mel Albin Rebecca Alston Sarah Amiradaki Kylie Anderson Leanne Anderson Sara Andrews Kate Antonas Kara Argent Kylie Armstrong Lorraine Armstrong Georgia Armstrong James Ashburner Cherie Ashburton Ashley Councillor Kylie Astwood Paul Aylward Diane Bailey Kim Bailey Steve Bailey Rob Baily Lisa Baldock Kate Bale Nathaniel Bann Natasha Bargeus Gemma Barich Margaret Barker Alfred Barker Celeste Barrett Trish Barron Jasmin Barunga Melinda Bastow Nicole Bathurst Sydney Baumgarten Kat Bavcevic Ned Baxter Jackie Bazzo Sue Beath Donald Beaumont Dave Beches Leanne Beches Leeuwin Beeck Mark Befumo Luke Bell Victor Bellotti Caren Bennett Flo Bennett Kane Benson John Berks Kay Bernardin Adrian Berry Denise Bevans

Denise Bevins Charree Bezant Braydan Binsaad Janelle BinSalleh Christine Black Shiobhan Blair Laura Bowden Lisa Bowen Michelle Bowins Diana Boyd Graham Boyd Monika Brabazon Roz Brabazon Chris Brader Marisa Bradshaw Craig Bramley Michele Brazier Lattahna Brierly John Briggs Julie Broad Vickie Brooks Samarah Brown Sara Bryan Leesa Bryen Sharon Buckland Rita Buckley Jane Burford Dennis Bussell Grant Bussell Grant Bussell TelďŹ a Cameron Diane Campbell Margaret Campbell Michael Campbell Maggie Captain Sharon Captain Alice Cargeeg Jemma Carlyon Carmel Carter Jan Cartwright Judith Caswell Jahna Cedar Maria Cernak Sheryl Chant Suzan Chesson William Chi Glen Chidlow Danzil Chu Bob Cirulis Janelle Clifton Bobbi Coldicott Christine Colgate Sharon Collins

John Collis Leah Combes Stephen Comeagain David Cooper Lindsay Copeman Jefferson Corbett Rob Cornish Ashley Councillor Abigail Cox Joshua Cox Lauren Cullo Ray Cummins Ric Dale Leny David Reilly Davies Grant De Vos Melanie Dee Carol Della Greg Denton Bradley Derschow Darren Derschow Tracey Derschow Imogen Dexter Lot Dezwarte Jarryn Dhu Ryan Dickie Geoff Diver Neville Diver Geoff Diver Jenna Dodge Monique Dopheide Lynda Dorrington Louise Dowling Elena Doyle Jo Drummond Andrew Dukas Russell Dyer Bill Dziombak Mark Eckersley Michael Egan Grace Ellery Melanie Elsum Deanne Evans Leonie Evans Mareen Evans Karen Felsner Ayden Ferdeline Chris Ferris Amanda Firenze Pentney Jamie-Lee Flatfoot Lilla Flatfoot Jules Fletcher Meagan Fletcher

Joan Foley Jan Ford Sarah Foulstone Kathi Fowler Belinda Fox LÂĄdia Freitas Natasha Fry Robert Fry Simon Gambie Craig Gardiner Arnold Garner Julie Garnet Leigh Gibbs Alison Gill Renee Gill Matt Glasson Betty Goedhart Julia Gonzalez Bill Good Jessica Gordon Amanda Grant Dawn Gray Lynn Gray Jahmartey Grecton Jasmine Green Sean Greening Peta Greening Crystelle Gregory Brian Gregs Lara Greipel Lyn Grey Jodie Hadley Clare Hall Amanda Hamilton Jeneille Harris Leanne Harris Jacinta Harvey Desiree Hathaway Myra Hawkins Amie Haynes Tia Hayter Russell Hayward Loren Healy Allison Heinritz Laura Hendry Nadine Hicks Trevena Hicks-Phillips Ross Higgins Owen Hightower Zane Hill Mark Hinch Tim Hipworth Stephen Hodder

Zahra Hodder Brye Holland Craig Holland Ben Hollyock Roberta Horne Louise Horton Katie Hosking Debra Howell Kelly Howlett Ian Hughes Julie Hunt Chontelle Hunter Justine Ibbotson Karlie Idagi Gloria Jacob Beulah Janse Van Vuuren Peter Jeffries Emma Jenkins Ann-Maree Johnson Phil Johnson Adam Jones Lisa Jones Wanda Kaucz Christine Keck Graham Kennedy Jenny Kerr Gabriel Khaw Ben Killigrew Chris Knoles Daniel Lacey Michael Lanagan Emily Lance Gemma Larham Edwin Leal Kim Leckie Hannah Lee Caroline Lee Laurence Leroux Tyler Lewis Steve Lindley Lisa Lock Leonard Long Kerie Loo Morag Lowe Cecile Lucas Lisa Luxton Damian Mackay Julie MacMile Karen Mallard Luiza Marine Alicia Marrich Steven Marrows Daniel Marsh Kellie Martin Paul Martin Pat Mason Rohan Mather Julie Matheson Shaun Matthews Amanda May John McBain Blair McGlew Beverley Mcintosh Mark McKeown Steve McKernan James McLaren Sandra McLean Peter Mcnally Tanya Mead Phil Mees Troy Melville Emma Merlo Damien Miles Aleisha Miller Krystal Miller

Samantha Mills Rhonda Mitchell Jennifer Molloy Leigh Moltoni Keith Monaghan Darren Moore Richard Moore Darren Morland David Morphett Caitlin Morrell Clare Muntinga Ford Murray Amanda Nance Jennifer Neale Travis Neale Vanessa Nematollahi Bob Neville Damien Newbold Tahnee Newton Kathy Neylon Christine Nunn Mandi Oata Richard O’Connell Tammara Olds Fiona O’Neill Louise O’Reilly Rebecca Ormes Michael Ostaszewskyj Jill O’Sullivan Judy Packington Jubillee Pagsuyuin Mani Palaniswamy Tony Pallotta Teehan Parkec Belinda Parker Kylie Patterson Michael Patterson Ray Patterson Steve Pave David Pearson Narelle Pearson Neila Penny Sarah Perkins Anthony Phillips Bec Pianta Helen k Pianta Glenys Pike Gerry Pilkington George Pitt Peter Pollard Jessie Poon Jo Potts Jade Power Nick Preece Graeme Presland Kirsten Purnell Esther Quintal Julie Radford Chan Ramakrishnan Michael Ramirez-Dixon Janice (Blondie) Ramznez Harry Randhawa Claudia Rayne Matt Reed Donna Richards Kirsty Richardson Mark Roberts Eileen Roe Emma Roebuck Tim Rose Jake Ross Loreta Rossiter D Rothwell Louise Roux Lesley Rowe

Hilary Rozario John Rudiger Mary Russell Teneal Russell Alan Ryan Hope Ryder Terry Sargent Nikki Schneider Christian Schuetze Hani (Katrina) Serramondi Narelle Shaw Bill Shaylor Sherryl Sheehy Allan Sheperdson Miriam Sheridan Germaine Shirley Victoria Shorter Ann Sibosado Nolene Smith Sue Smith Chlodough Smith Chris Smith Sue Smithson Claire Sobolewski Tiffany Soukup Carolyn Stanitzki Naomi Stanitzki Gaye Stephens Vicki Stephens Ayla Stewart Kris Summers Chris Takes Roni Talbot Chris Tancik Barbara Taylor Harry Taylor Milarli Taylor S Taylor Melissa Tebbit Neil Thom Carly Thompson Erica Thompson Jessica Thompson Shaydeen Thompson Sam Thong Lou Thrupp Rodney Tittums Rhonda Towie Linh Tran Vicki Tree Julie Trounce Mitchil Tullock Doreen Turland Claudia Turner Mariska Uys Damian Vallance Andre Veder Kirsty Vervaart Nicole Villanueva Linda Villiers Jenella Voitkevich Caris Vuckovic Hanna Walton Daniel Weaver Matthew Weeks Helen Wei Nasyitah Westley Chris Whalley Shannan Wheelock John Whelan Tiarnie Whitby Peter Wilden Jess Will David Willcox Anthony Williams

Bernadette Williams Julieanne Williams Katie Williams Kane Williamson Tim Wilson Craig Wilson Liam Wilson Lesley Wood Shelley Wood Brian Wood Cassandra Woodruff Kristal Kareen Wyllie Nicole Yardley Allison Yeawood Sarah Ziegelaar Elmar Zielke Ajay Anna Carol Dana Freda Josh Katie Narelle Nicholas Peter Peter Richard Roxy Sandra Sasha Shona Teresa Terry Troy

THANKYOU Thanks also to those of you who helped shape the Place Essence of Port Hedland: Tiffany Allen Robert Baily Richard Bairstow Lisa Baldock Trish Barron Fred Beel Julie Berry Denise Bevins Taz Bhatti Mick Boon Lisa Bowen Craig Bramley Jeff Breen Josephine Bunney Andre Bush Grant Bussell George Cartwright Sheila Cleaver Mary Jane Coates Fred Coates Kristy-Lee Cooke Joshua Cox Porscha Cox Sarah Cunningham Mark Davis Nick De Vries Irene Dempsey Ryan Djanegara Jenna Dodge Russel Dyer Bill Dziombak Bronwyn Elvery Jackie Farmer Damian Fasher Greg Finch Diane Franklin Steve Gibson Andrew Grifﬁn Christine Hayes Andrew Heath Diana Herbert Owen Hightower Mark Hinch Brie Holland David Hooper Kelly Howlett Paul Howrie Justine Hyams Vicki James Pip Jarkiewicz Kelly Johnson Irene Kelly Ben Killigrew Morag Lowe Fran Maher Paul Martin Allan Mason Salome Mbenjele Noelene McCann Kerry McGregor Dan McKillon Eliza Mearns

Andrea Meehan Robyn Middleton Brittany Moxham Crystal Naismith Wayne Ness Lisa Newman Caroline O’Neil Chelsea Podmore James Purtill Alex Rey Nicole Roukens Lorna Secrett Robyn Sermon Victoria Shorter Danielle Skelton Fiona Slade Sonya Stewart Erin Stewart Lesley Stone Vanessa Subramoney Debra Summers Lee Sweeney Penny Taylor Helen Taylor Elizabeth Thomas Lorraine Thomas Jenny Thomas Pia Thornett Lana Treasure Andre Veder Brian Wall Alexis Wallace Andrew Watt Anthony Williams Jordan Williams Liam Wilson Kieran Wong Peter Wood Shelly Wood

END NOTES 1 Developed with the community by FORM through the Pilbara Place Making workshop series focusing on Port Hedland. June, August and September 2010 2 “For John Field (2003: 1-2) the central thesis of social capital theory is that ‘relationships matter’. The central idea is that ‘social networks are a valuable asset’. Interaction enables people to build communities, to commit themselves to each other, and to knit the social fabric.” Smith, M. K. (2000-2009). ‘Social capital’, the encyclopedia of informal education, [www.infed.org/biblio/ social_capital.htm]. 3 Halpern, D. (2009b). The Hidden Wealth of Nations. Cambridge: Polity, cited in Smith, M. K. (2000-2009). ‘Social capital’, the encyclopedia of informal education, [www.infed.org/biblio/social_ capital.htm]. 4 The World Bank (1999). ‘What is Social Capital?’, PovertyNet http://www.worldbank.org/poverty/scapital/whatsc.htm 5 ABS 2011 6 Cuypers, K., et al., 2011 7 Smith, M. K. (2000-2009). ‘Social capital’, the encyclopedia of informal education, [www.infed.org/biblio/social_capital.htm]. 8 Pilbara Framework: Regional Proﬁle, 2.5.3 - Population turnover (‘churn factor’), Western Australian Planning Commission 9 Leading urban experts CEOs for Cities have identiﬁed in their research 4 key economic advantages cities offer their citizens: Variety, Convenience, Discovery, Opportunity. CEOs for Cities and Joe Cortright, City Advantage 10 CEOs for Cities and Joe Cortright,, City Advantage 11 CEOs for Cities and Joe Cortright,, City Advantage 12 Creative Placemaking, Ann Markusen and Anne Gadwa, 2010 13 A recent study of 43,000 people in 26 communities over three years “found that three main qualities attach people to place: social offerings, such as entertainment venues and places to meet, openness (how welcoming a place is) and the area’s aesthetics (its physical beauty and green spaces)”. (Soul of the Community survey, Gallup and Knight Foundation http:// www.soulofthecommunity.org/) Moreover, residents rated their communities’ availability of arts and cultural opportunities and social community events highest in importance among social offerings. 14 As noted in ‘Developing and Revitalizing Rural Communities Through Arts and Creativity’, the Sustainability Strategy developed for Western Australia, comprised primarily of rural and remote communities, asserts that “arts and culture are central to the identity of a healthy and vibrant society”. ‘Government of Western Australia’, 2003, p. 250, cited in Duxbury, Dr Nancy and Campbell, Heather. “Developing and Revitalizing Rural Communities Through Arts and Creativity: An International Literature Review and Inventory of Resources” CCNC March 2009.

15 Over recent years the level and diversity of social and cultural resources and infrastructure has declined in the Pilbara. According to the Spotlight on the Pilbara (ABS and PDC), from 2001 to 2006 Arts and Recreation services in the Pilbara have reduced, from employment ﬁgures of 122 to 77. Spotlight on the Pilbara, Australian Bureau of Statistics and Pilbara Development Commission. 16 The value of creative and cultural amenity to community development is illustrated by the work of Social Impact for the Arts, and supported by art consultancy Wolf Brown’s work: “..there is a relationship between the level of cultural engagement in a community and the degree of social connection among neighbours, expressed in their willingness to take action on behalf of the common good. Neighbourhoods richest in cultural organizations are also the most stable, economically diverse, and integrated regions within cities. In one major city, during the 1980s and 1990s, the odds that a neighbourhood would revitalize were highly related to the presence of cultural resources. Even among the most at-risk neighbourhoods, those with many cultural organizations within one half-mile were 3-4 times more likely to see their poverty decline and population increase as those with few such groups.” Dr. Dennie Palmer Wolf and Dr. Steven Holochwost, ‘Building Creative Capital’; Mark Stern and Susan Seifert, ‘From Creative Economy to Creative Society’, SIAP, University of Pennsylvania. 17 Creative Learning: People and Pathways, Thriving Minds initiative report by Big Thought and Wolf Brown, 2010 18 Before the Town Got Big explored the stories of the Spinifex Hill Artists from their experiences of the town and its surrounding region, before its rapid growth. FORM, 2010, Before the Town Got Big, FORM, Perth 19 The Pilbara Plan, Pilbara Area Consultative Committee, 2008. This objective of the plan highlights the signiﬁcant opportunity arts and culture can contribute to the Pilbara region.

REFERENCES Australian Bureau of Statistics and Pilbara Development

Department of Regional Development and Lands, 2011, Pilbara Cities,

Commission, 2009, Spotlight on the Pilbara, Accessed in October

Accessed November 2011, http://www.pilbaracities.com/

2011, http://www.regionalspotlights.com.au/SpotlightOnPilbara.aspx Pilbara Development Commission, 2010, Strategic Plan 2010-2013, Australian Research Council, Gibson, C and Stewart, A, 2009,

Pilbara Development Commission Publishing Service, Port Hedland

Reinventing Rural Places: The extent and Impact of festivals in rural and regional Australia, University of Wollongong, New South Wales

Pilbara Regional Council, 2011, Strategic Plan 2011-2014, Pilbara Regional Council Publishing Service, Perth

BHP Billiton, 2010, Our Sustainability Framework, BHP Billiton Publishing Service, Melbourne

Smith, M. K. (2000-2009). ‘Social capital’, the encyclopaedia of informal education, Accessed in October 2011, www.infed.org/biblio/

BHP Billiton, 2008, STA.009- Health, Safety, Environment and

social_capital.htm.

Community (HSEC) Management, BHP Billiton Publishing Service, Melbourne

Department of Regional Development & Lands, A Region in Proﬁle: Pilbara, 2011, Department of Regional Development and Lands

Big Thought and WolfBrown, 2010, Creative Learning: People and

Publishing Service, Perth

Pathways, Thriving Minds initiative report 2006-2010, Big Thought Publishing Service, Dallas

Department of Training and Workforce Development, 2010, Skilling WA - A Workforce Development Plan for Western Australia,

Brisbane City Council, 2006, Brisbane City Shape 2026, Brisbane

Department of Training and Workforce Development Publishing

City Council Publishing Service, Brisbane

Service, Perth

Brisbane City Council, 2005, Our Shared Vision: Living in Brisbane

Department of Training and Workforce Development,2010, Training

2026, Brisbane City Council Publishing Service, Brisbane

Together - Working Together, Aboriginal Workforce Development Strategy, Department of Training and Workforce Development

CEOs for Cities and Joe Cortright, 2007, City Advantage, CEOs for

Publishing Service, Perth

Cities Publishing Service, Chicago Department of Training and Workforce Development, 2010, State CEOs for Cities, conducted by Rowe, M. 2008, 36 Hours Study, CEOs

Priority Occupation List, Department of Training and Workforce

for Cities Publishing Service

Development Publishing Service, Perth

City of Melbourne, 2010, Melbourne Municipal Strategic Statement

Department of Training and Workforce Development, 2010, Western

and Vision, City of Melbourne Publishing Services, Melbourne

Australian employment trends and prospects, Department of Training and Workforce Development Publishing Service, Perth

(The) City of New York, 2011, PlaNYC, Accessed November 2011, http://www.nyc.gov/html/planyc2030/html/home/home.shtml

Department of Culture and the Arts, 2010, Strategic Directions 20102014, Department of Culture and the Arts Publishing Service, Perth

AuthentiCity and City of Toronto, 2008, Creative City Planning Framework, City of Toronto Publishing Service, Toronto

Department of Communities, 2008, Strategic Plan 2008-2013, Department of Communities Publishing Service, Perth

Daley, J. and Lancy, A. 2011, Investing in regions: Making a Difference, Grattan Institute, Melbourne

Department of Indigenous Affairs, 2010, Strategic Plan 2010-2012, Department of Indigenous Affairs Publishing Service, Perth

Duxbury, Dr N. and Campbell, H. 2009, Developing and Revitalizing Rural Communities Through Arts and Creativity: An International

Department of Indigenous Affairs, 2010, Closing the Gap in

Literature Review and Inventory of Resources, Creative City Network

Indigenous Life Outcomes, Department of Indigenous Affairs

of Canada, Vancouver

Publishing Service, Perth

FORM, 2010, Before the Town Got Big, Form Publishing Service,

Tourism Western Australia and WAITOC, 2011, Making a Difference -

Perth

Aboriginal Tourism Strategy for Western Australia 2011-2015, Tourism Western Australia and WAITOC Publishing Service, Perth

FORM, 2010, Pilbara Place Making Series, Summary Report, FORM Publishing Services, Perth

Town of Port Hedland, 2011, 2010 Community Survey Results, Town of Port Hedland Publishing Service, Port Hedland

Geograﬁa, CCS Strategic Management and Shire of Roebourne, 2009, Karratha 2020 Vision, Shire of Roebourne Publishing Service,

Town of Port Hedland and RPS, 2011, Draft Implementation Plan

Karratha

material, Town of Port Hedland Publishing Service, Port Hedland

Knight Foundation and Gallup, Soul of the Community, Accessed in

Town of Port Hedland, 2010, Hedland’s Future Today, Town of Port

November 2011, http://www.soulofthecommunity.org/,

Hedland Publishing Service, Port Hedland

Landcorp and Shire of Roebourne, 2010, Karratha City of the North

Town of Port Hedland, 2008, Public Art Policy 2008-2010, (Draft

Plan, LandCorp Publishing Service, Perth

Version), Town of Port Hedland Publishing Service, Port Hedland

Landcorp, Shire of Roebourne and Pilbara Cities, 2010, Karratha City

Town of Port Hedland, 2011, CCS Strategic Active Open Space

of the North: City Growth Plan, LandCorp Publishing Service, Perth

Strategy for Town of Port Hedland, (Draft) Town of Port Hedland Publishing Service, Port Hedland

Landcorp, Shire of Roebourne and Pilbara Cities, 2010, Karratha City of the North: City Centre Masterplan, LandCorp Publishing Service,

Town of Port Hedland, 2010, Port and South Hedland, Heading

Perth

Forward - Town of Port Hedland Strategic Plan 2010-2015, Town of Port Hedland Publishing Service, Port Hedland

Markusen, A. and Gadwa, A., Creative Placemaking, 2010 Town of Port Hedland, 2011, Pilbara’s Port City: Gearing Up, Town of Newman, P., Bilsborough, D., Reed, P. and Mouritz, M., 2010, From

Port Hedland Publishing Service, Port Hedland

Projects to Places – the 2 Challenges, 4 Themes and 10 Practices of How to Do it, Pilbara Cities Publishing Services, Karratha

Town and Port Hedland and RPS, 2011, Pilbara’s Port City Growth Plan, (Draft), Town of Port Hedland Publishing Service, Port Hedland

Pilbara RDA (Regional Development Australia), 2010, Preliminary Pilbara Regional Plan, Pilbara RDA (Regional Development Australia)

Western Australian Planning Commission, Pilbara Framework:

Publishing Service, Karratha

Regional Proﬁle, 2009, Western Australian Planning Commission Publishing Service, Perth

Pilbara RDA (Regional Development Australia), 2008, The Pilbara Plan, Pilbara RDA (Regional Development Australia) Publishing

Western Australian Planning Commission, Pilbara Regional Planning

Service, Karratha

Committee, Pilbara – Planning and Infrastructure Framework (Draft) Western Australian Planning Commission (Document to be ﬁnalised

Social Impact of the Arts, Palmer Wolf, Dr. D, and Holochwost, Dr.

in late 2011

S. 2001, Building Creative Capital, University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia

(The) World Bank, 2011, What is Social Capital?, Accessed in October 2011, http://www.worldbank.org/poverty/scapital/whatsc.htm

Social Impact of the Arts, Stern, M and Seifert, S. 2001, From Creative Economy to Creative Society, University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia

CONTACT For more information on the Town of Port Hedlandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s planning for the future, please contact: Director of Planning and Development directorpd@porthedland.wa.gov.au (08) 9158-9300 This document has been compiled and developed by FORM on behalf of the Town of Port Hedland. FORM mail@form.net.au +61 8 9226 2799 www.form.net.au www.courthousegallery.com.au www.thepilbaraproject.com For more detailed information on the growth and land use planning developed by RPS for the Town of Port Hedland, see the Pilbaraâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Port City Growth Plan at: www.porthedland.wa.gov.au

Written by Rebecca Eggleston With thanks to Lynda Dorrington, Mags Webster, John Royle, Georgia Armstrong, Zane Hill of FORM

FORM is an independent not-for-proﬁt organisation working to develop and leverage creativity for community development and cultural transformation in Western Australia.

FORM’s programs span research and advocacy, strategy development, artist professional development and opportunities, exhibition development and community cultural engagement. We have ofﬁces and galleries in Perth, the Pilbara and Midland and work with creative people from remote and metropolitan communities.

Commissioned by Town of Port Hedland