Consultants appointed for Bayswater town centre structure plan - June 2016

The City of Bayswater has appointed Perth based planning consultants TPG to begin work on preparing a structure plan for Bayswater town centre.

West Ward Councillor Stephanie Coates welcomed the appointment and described it as a good first step in putting the right planning provisions in place to guide how the Bayswater town site develops into the future.

"Preparing the structure plan will involve extensive community consultation, which means local ratepayers, residents and business owners will have a say on planning for the future of their area," she said.

"It will help ensure that heritage and character values are preserved for the future; that developments are appropriate in terms of design, scale and location; and that we create walkable neighbourhoods featuring high quality urban design."

"The structure plan will also look at how all of the town's transport connections work and support each other.

"That involves considering pedestrian and cycle routes, the local road network, parking provisions, and integrated public transport that sees bus and train services working together."

Councillor Coates said that the State Government's Forrestfield Perth Airport Link rail project that is due to get underway later this year has major implications for Bayswater town centre.

"It will definitely put pressure on the Bayswater town site and its rail station, and make it increasingly attractive to prospective developers," she noted.

"That makes it doubly important that we start consulting with the community on the structure plan as soon as possible.

"This is a once in a generation opportunity to involve the community in guiding the development of Bayswater town centre for years to come," Cr Coates added.

Preparing the Bayswater town centre structure plan is expected to take approximately nine months.