WA’s first Liveable Street design
15 Jun 2022
In a little pocket of Ferndale, there is something quite unique unfolding... Yolk Property Group and their development partners, have been creating WA's first liveable street.
In this article, Mark Elliss explains the intent for the Livable Street including some of the planning challenges that TBB encountered along the way.
Located on the corner of Latham Road and Kinlock Avenue, in the established residential neighbourhood of Ferndale, a collaboration between Yolk Property Group, DevelopmentWA and BGC, has been developing a WA first - a fully design led, Liveable Street.
This street has been purposefully designed to encourage camaraderie, connection and community engagement among all the residents of Allure Estate. It challenges the traditional use of a verge and creates opportunities for much more than a grassed mass between the property boundary and the road carriageway, to that of a space that can be both actively and passively enjoyed by the immediate residents and the neighbourhood community.
Urban infill and the community
Allure Estate is being developed on the former Kinlock Primary School site and has not been without controversy. The old site had been vacant since 2007, and was considered a fire hazard, home to dangerous snakes and dumped rubbish. Despite this, when the site was selected for urban infill development in 2018, the community reaction was mixed. Residents were concerned that a higher density residential development would bring with it cars, lights and noise. And with the current site zoning allowing residential lots to a minimum size of 260sqm, there was a real possibility that the outcome could be very unpopular with the local community.
As the vision for the site began to take shape, community engagement was key to helping the local residents and wider community understand what the new development was looking to achieve. And while the initial approvals did rely on public open spaces being incorporated and existing mature trees being retained, it was the promise of WA's first large scale liveable street concept being delivered, that has been welcomed.
Design led visioning for affordable housing
Before the TBB urban design team even got started, the notion of community interaction was at the heart as a core outcome for the project. The goal was to provide a range of affordable land and home sites suitable for all lifestyles and budgets in line with the State Government's Affordable Housing Action Plan. The planning landed on 78 lots of varying sizes, despite early media announcements hinting at 90 to 100 lots. The lots also ended up being a range of sizes from 245sqm to 772sqm.
So, what does a Liveable Street look like?
According to the developers, “it’s like nothing you have ever seen before”.
The lots are integrated with the street, which has been designed to encourage social interaction and suited to both young and old. Some of the features of the Liveable Street include:
- climbing and bouldering wall
- a climbing pole
- skateable elements
- ping pong
- children's criterium track
- sun lounge and umbrellas
- a book library
- a banquet table
- a seating wall
- feature paving
The development was originally earmarked as a staged development but Allure Estate was so inundated by demand that the entire estate was released in one stage. Allure Estate is currently under construction with the Liveable Street starting to take shape. Drone footage in the video below is from February 2022.
Source: allureestate.com.au
"I believe that you shouldn't have to leave your neighborhood to live in a better one.” Majora Carter