COCKBURN deputy mayor Lara Kirkwood says confirmation Jandakot has firmed as the location of WA’s first wave park is a great boon to the city’s plan to become a tourism destination.

A rival bid by Stirling council to host the surfing facility is almost certainly dead in the water after one of the two companies vying to build on state-owned land in Jandakot rejected the northern council’s proposed site because it was a former dump.

UrbnSurf, which lost a bruising bid to build a wave park in Alfred Cove two years ago, and US-based Aventuur are in negotiations with the McGowan government over the Jandakot site, a patch of bushland across the freeway from the Cockburn Central train station.

It’s also in Cr Kirkwood’s ward, which she describes as “very exciting”.

“I think it’s great for the whole of Cockburn, not just for east ward; it’s great for tourism,” Cr Kirkwood said.

She revealed the city is working towards its first-ever tourism plan to support a growing list of attractions.

“We are building the Aboriginal education centre, we’ve got Adventure World, Gateways is expanding 

and there’ll be movies and other entertainment, we’ve got Cockburn Arc; imagine if we get that whole coastal strip developed – you can forget going to Fremantle or Mandurah,” Cr Kirkwood said. “Realistically, we’re not going to be another Fremantle or Mandurah, but we do have the opportunity to be a destination.”

by STEVE GRANT