Adelaide’s southern suburbs have experienced a number of changes to their economic base over the past decade, including the closure of Mobil’s Port Stanvac refinery, the closure of Mitsubishi Motors Lonsdale engine plant and more recently the closure of Mitsubishi Motors Tonsley Park manufacturing plant.
The closure of these facilities has resulted in a reduction in the relative contribution of manufacturing activity as a proportion of the economy of Adelaide’s southern suburbs, which is consistent with the trends observed for the Adelaide and South Australian economies. In an Adelaide and South Australia context, the reduction in manufacturing activity over the last decade has been offset by an increase in the relative contribution of financial and insurance services, and professional, scientific and technical services, marking a shift to a post-industrial economy to an economy underpinned by knowledge-intensive industries.
The state has also seen an increase in use of renewable energy, improved water efficiency and delivery models, improved building management systems coupled with an increase in technologies and process to support more sustainable practices in the building construction and manufacturing industries.
To support this shift in the economic base from Adelaide’s southern suburbs, the State Government has purchased the 61 hectare former Mitsubishi Motors Tonsley Park site to facilitate a mixed-use development with a focus on knowledge-intensive “clean-tech” industries and to demonstrate best practice approaches to sustainable development.
In order to support this concept, the Department of Trade and Economic Development (DTED) commissioned SGS to prepare a Policy Framework and Economic Impact Analysis for the Redevelopment of the former Mitsubishi Site (2010) (the SGS Report). The report sought to determine the critical success factors of future redevelopment of the Site, establish the nature of high value added activities to be attracted to the Site and provide an initial spatial layout for development from which infrastructure requirements could be assessed. An economic impact assessment was prepared that includes economic analysis and modeling of the impact as a result of the development of the Site over the long term, including employment projections and contribution to GSP.
The SGS Report identified approximate land areas required to support the mix of uses
envisaged and includes a Concept Land Use Plan for the site, which creates a significant
main street connecting the current eastern and western access points to the Site with a
centralised town centre. Light industry, industrial, clean-tech, and commercial and
residential/retail precincts.
It is now proposed to build on the SGS Report to develop a comprehensive Precinct Plan for the site.