Local businesses will come together next week in an effort to grow the economic potential of one of the fastest growing local government areas in the country.
The City of Armadale is hosting the Better Business Forum and Networking event on Thursday 14 March in partnership with the Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA (CCIWA).
The forum will be held at Beaver Tree Services in the Forrestdale Business Park.
The event is an opportunity for local businesses to connect, collaborate and grow together, under the shared vision of growing the city’s significant economic potential.
Keynote speakers for the event are Chief Economist CCIWA Aaron Morey, and Manager International Trade and Investment CCIWA Michael Carter.
“The City of Armadale is emerging as a powerhouse industrial and logistics precinct, underpinning the state’s broader economy. There is real energy and momentum for development here,” Aaron Morey said.
Forrestdale Business Park is a rapidly growing business area, with 244 businesses currently operating in a range of industries including construction, freight, transport, warehousing, machinery, manufacturing and utilities.
Employment around the Forrestdale Business Park has risen by 174 percent over the last seven years.
Currently, there are over 3,700 jobs in the area.
But the city’s economic growth is not limited to one precinct; the value of building approvals in the City of Armadale was over $476 million last financial year. Residential developments made up 55 percent of these, with 45 percent for commercial developments, reaching a record level for non-residential development in 2023.
The City of Armadale’s planning team won the Local Government Best Practice Award in 2020 at the Bankwest Master Builders Housing Excellence Awards in recognition of their consistent efficiency in turning around building applications – the Development Services team has a 10-day timeframe for certified building applications, and averages 1.5 days.
Meanwhile, the Armadale City Centre is recognised as a Strategic Metropolitan Centre by the WA Planning Commission and in the State Government’s ‘Direction 2031 and Beyond’ Plan. With the recently opened police and court precinct, and the soon-to-be-completed TAFE and elevated rail line and station, the Armadale CBD is shoring itself up to be a key outer metro hub into the future.
And the City of Armadale is hoping to capitalise on that potential at the Better Business Forum.
“This is a chance to celebrate and build upon the commercial and industrial growth in the city. As one of the fastest growing local government areas in the nation, the region provides great opportunity to take advantage of the increasing need for business and enterprise within the city,” Mayor Ruth Butterfield said.
