URBSURF Eyes a New Location Outside Perth
Perth surfers have a renewed sense of hope for a local URBNSURF wave pool now that the State Government and URBNSURF are discussing new locations Jandakot.
The leading location for URBNSURF Perth is a 5.7 hectare site near the intersection of Kwinana Freeway and Armadale Road. The site is currently owned by the WA Planning Commission.
The URBNSURF Perth wave pool will occupy 2 hectares and host 84 surfers per hour across 4 different surf zones. The setup will be similar to URNBSURF Melbourne with advanced and intermediate waves taking place in on The Point, while beginners ride The Bay areas. The size and shape of the waves will accomodate all levels of surfing. Waves will vary from gentle, rolling white water for learners and beginners, through to steep, barreling waves with air sections that will challenge even the most experienced riders.
“We’re able to orientate the lagoon into the prevailing wind, which is important for us and I think it’s in a relatively benign geotechnical position,” said Andrew Ross, founder and executive director of URBNSURF.
The news of the renewed talks between URBNSURF and the authorities is promising since the fallout of a $40m AUD plan to create a wave pool in Alfred Cove. The failed effort cost URBNSURF $500k AUD. Ross told the Sunday Times “We haven’t given up on Perth. It’s our desire to develop a surf park here and we would love to bring it to the community.”
“In terms of opposition, to put this site in that same context, there’s no nearby residents and no nearby businesses that could be affected in any way at all by our presence,” Ross said.
“That self-interest we saw on show in Melville, we don’t think that will be a real issue with the Jandakot site.”
Mr. Ross highlighted the Jandakot site’s proximity to transport arteries such as the Cockburn Central Station and Kwinana Freeway as working in its favor and said the land lent itself to the project.
Planning Minister Rita Saffioti is also ready to move forward with the URBNSURF Perth wave pool project. After visiting URBNSURF Melbourne, she said the Government was keen to resurrect the project.
Ms. Saffioti told the Sunday Times that the land’s proximity to Cockburn Station, the future Metronet Thornlie-to-Cockburn Link and the new bridge from Armadale Road to North Lake Road would make the site more accessible than the previous site in Alfred Cove.
“We absolutely agree with Urbnsurf that a wave park would be a fantastic addition to Perth,” Ms Saffioti said. “This is a proposal that will attract tourists, generate jobs and be welcomed by many across the community.”
Everyone seems hopeful that the Jandakot location will work out, but there is more research to conduct. “It doesn’t face too many challenges from a civil construction point of view, there’s still a lot of work to be done to understand the environmental values of that site, but all the key items we look at to see whether a site might work seem to make sense.”
