This case study relates to Action 39 in the Kep Katitjin – Gabi Kaadadjan Waterwise action plan 3 delivered by DevelopmentWA, Water Corporation and the Department of Communities.
OneOneFive Hamilton Hill is a DevelopmentWA ‘Innovation Through Demonstration’ project targeting the highest levels of sustainability in urban infill development. The 244-lot residential estate is located on the former Hamilton Senior High School site, south of Perth. It aims to be a vibrant residential community featuring climate responsive planning, a diverse range of modern energy and water efficient housing options including quality public open space that prioritises canopy cover, biodiversity and connection to remnant bushland in response to a drying climate.
The development aligns with actions in the first two waterwise plans, and in this plan, action 39: Showcase Waterwise Developments to evaluate, share and inspire adoption in the private sector. OneOneFive contributes to targets relating to integrating best practice waterwise policies into State Government urban water documents and achieving waterwise government-led urban developments.
The development demonstrates sustainability leadership, including achievement of all six leaves in the Urban Development Institute of Australia (UDIA) EnviroDevelopment program, recognition as a Water Corporation Platinum Waterwise Development (2022) and winner of the 2021 Waste Sorted Awards ‘Waste Initiative of the Year’ for commitment to resource recovery.
OneOneFive Hamilton Hill has a balanced approach to water management that includes a community groundwater bore scheme; water efficiency measures in the landscape and household; tree retention and landscape enhancement; stormwater retention such as permeable paving; and water use metering, including household scale initiatives.
These sustainability initiatives form the basis for several applied research projects, including the OneOneFive Waterwise Exemplar and the Smart Neighbourhood Waterwise Performance Monitoring. They seek to understand how successful waterwise and sustainability initiatives can become mainstream in Perth’s urban development industry. These learnings are intended to assist in the transition towards a more liveable, sustainable and resilient Perth.
In particular, the Waterwise Exemplar program focuses on improving urban water management by understanding processes such as planning, design and implementation; overcoming barriers; sharing learnings; and building capacity among local government, developers and their consultants in response to Perth’s drying climate. This program is a collaborative partnership between Water Corporation, Department of Water and Environmental Regulation, DevelopmentWA and City of Cockburn.
Knowledge sharing and communication outputs from the Waterwise Exemplar project include presentations at industry events, site tours and the Waterwise Development Pathway for planning design and approvals. The Pathway encourages greater uptake of waterwise initiatives through statutory planning processes for improved urban greening, liveability and ecological outcomes.
Projects such as OneOneFive Hamilton Hill provide an opportunity to demonstrate the changes to planning, design and implementation needed to deliver sustainable urban developments that incorporate waterwise principles. They are important to trial new approaches; monitor, evaluate and refine approaches and share knowledge and learnings to assist with embedding new practices. These practices demonstrate to industry and stakeholders how to embed learnings to achieve waterwise outcomes, which are critical for addressing climate change in Boorloo (Perth), Bindjareb (Peel) and the wider region.
