State football centre gets green light

Western Australia’s peak planning body has given the state the green light to build a $32.5 million football centre in Queens Park, which will host training facilities for the teams playing in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

The Western Australian Planning Commission (WAPC) granted planning approval for the Department of Local Government, Sports and Cultural Industries’ proposal during a meeting yesterday afternoon, subject to a suite of conditions.

The sporting facility is set to be built at Welshpool Road and Wharf Street in Queens Park, featuring two full-size high-performance pitches, three smaller pitches, a two-storey building with change rooms, training facilities, a sports medicine centre, a kiosk, and a meeting room space for Football West administration.

The main pitch will have tiered seating for 700 spectators, but the site will have the ability to accommodate temporary seating for as many as 4,000.

In June last year, Premier Mark McGowan unveiled plans to build the new facility, jointly funded by both the state and federal government.

In a report presented to the WAPC, officers stated that it had received 12 objections to the proposed development based on its potential impact on the amenity and the site’s vegetation, parking, and traffic congestion issues, but believed that the issues had been addressed in the conditions attached.

The construction of the facility, which is expected to provide more than 150 jobs in the next two years and commence as soon as the remaining approvals are obtained.

The development application for the project was filed with the Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage’s new State Development Assessment Unit, a body the state government established to streamline the approvals process, expedite projects and aid in the state’s COVID-19 recovery.