The South West is home to Australia's only silicon producer – Simcoa Operations. 
SuperTowns
Over the next three to four decades, Western Australia's population is set to double.
As part of preparing for this growth and working to decentralise Western Australia's future population, the State Government devised a plan to make regional towns even more attractive places to live in the future.
SuperTowns plan announced
In July 2011, Regional Development Minister Brendon Grylls announced the Regional Centres Development Plan - a program to transform towns into SuperTowns.
The SuperTowns vision is to create well-connected communities with access to services, affordable housing, and a diverse range of lifestyle and employment opportunities. This will result in more choices for people living in regional areas and provide an attractive alternative to residing in the metropolitan area.
Of the nine towns initially given SuperTown status, three are in the South West - Collie, Manjimup and Margaret River.
Read the Minister's announcement.
How were the SuperTowns selected?
Collie, Manjimup and Margaret River were selected because of their growth potential, and also because their location within the region will enable the benefits of the program to flow to surrounding areas and support Bunbury as the major regional centre.
Read more about:
Collie
Manjimup
Margaret River
Funding to transform three South West towns into SuperTowns
Royalties for Regions funding has been made available to support the development of SuperTowns.
A share in $80million is available to the nine SuperTowns for transformational projects, with an additional $5.5million available to assist with strategic planning in these communities.
And while it is the SuperTowns that stand to directly benefit from this funding, the investment in the SuperTowns is expected to bring flow on benefits to surrounding areas.
The Royalties for Regions program will continue to make new investments throughout the region in addition to the SuperTowns initiative. SuperTowns funding is in addition to Royalties for Regions support through initiatives such as the Country Local Government Fund and the Regional Grants Scheme.
Work is underway to develop SuperTowns
The South West Development Commission has been working closely with local governments and professional planners to lay the foundations for population expansion and economic growth in the region's SuperTowns.
There is work being carried out to develop socio-economic profiles and growth plans. This work will form the basis for future economic strategies to support growth in the SuperTowns, and identify the services, amenities and infrastructure needed to reach and support each SuperTown's potential.
Importantly, all of this work is taking place against the backdrop of a community visioning process, the aim of which is to encourage members of the community to be involved in the future planning of their towns.
In terms of community involvement, community reference groups have also been set up to help guide the work being done through the SuperTowns program.
Steps towards becoming SuperTowns
- The Regional Centres Development Plan is announced
- The first SuperTowns community forum is held in Collie
- Community reference groups are formed and begin holding meetings in 2011
- In 2011 project control groups begin to meet regularly in each town to oversee progress
- Consultants RPS were appointed in November 2011 to complete the Growth Plans
- AEC were appointed as Economic Plan consultants in November 2011
- Director Generals of State Government agencies were briefed at a function in Collie in November 2011
- Representatives from the South West Development Commission and the relevant local governments met with the Minister at Parliament House in December to report on progress
- SWDC held a briefing for stakeholders, including members of the business community, in December 2011
Business opportunities
The work being carried out in each of the South West's SuperTowns will bring business opportunities, especially to developers and people working in the real estate sector.
The growth plans are likely to highlight the strategic value of the towns, as well as their potential for investors.
