Land & Property Surveying
How Super Lots expedite titling
PROJECT: Development of Calleya Estate
CLIENT: Stockland
PROJECT BACKGROUND
Calleya Estate is a community built by Stockland – an Australian property development company. Located 25km from Perth in the southern suburb of Treeby, Western Australia, the estate occupies 145ha of land, which was previously used as a sand quarry.
The estate yields 2,300 residential lots, providing for retirement living, medium density housing, parks, a primary school, and a local centre. The site was rezoned for urban development in November 2012 and structure plan approval was granted by the City of Cockburn in May 2013.
CHALLENGES
The topography of the site was significantly altered by previous sand mining operations and in most parts, the site was substantially lower than its environs. Additionally, there was no external drainage flow path available to the adjacent Atwell Drain (a Resource Enhancement Wetland).
Significant earthworks and engineering design were required to remediate the site and re-establish a drainage connection to the Atwell Drain.
There were key environmental considerations relating to the development of the site, as stormwater would discharge directly into Atwell Drain and ultimately into Thompsons Lake (a Ramsar Wetland). The site is also situated on a Priority 2 area of the Jandakot Groundwater Mound, which supplies drinking water to Perth.
Significant geotechnical and hydrogeological investigations were therefore required to demonstrate that urban development could occur on the site (without compromising the groundwater resource), and to justify the reclassification of the site to the less restrictive Priority 3.
With the first stages falling at the commencement of the peak of land sales (due to the 2012 mining boom), MNG was tasked with ensuring stages were titled in a timely manner.
SOLUTIONS
MNG completed a detailed survey of the Atwell Drain over a range of 4.8km. Information gathered from this survey was crucial to determine the viability of the project.
Booming sales dictated a swift transition of data from the field, to submission of plans and documents, to various government agencies.
As multiple stages were on the go at the same time, MNG’s strategy of implementing “super lots” allowed for flexibility in the titling sequence. This allowed for a more efficient and flexible subdivision process.
OUTCOMES
With over 2,300 residences titled in under nine years, MNG’s implementation of super lots to expedite the titling process was instrumental in assisting Stockland to convert an old quarry into one of Perth’s most sought-after residential estates.
Stockland was also successful in attaining the Urban Development Institute of Australia (WA) Masterplan Development Award for 2021.21.
