The promoter, responsible for many of the events aimed at the youth of Mandurah, insists more needs to be done or the city is at risk of becoming “the world’s biggest retirement village and with some serious social and economic problems”.

Based on the 2008 census of Mandurah, suburb demographics show the median age of the city to be 43 years with a higher than average concentration of people aged under 14 years.

Mr Hill believed the key reason behind such figures was because the city had little to offer the demographic of 17 to 35 years.

“The retention of our talented young people is directly related to the future economic prosperity of Mandurah,” Mr Hill said.

“Currently our workforce is predominantly made up of jobs in retail, construction and Alcoa, with very little professional opportunities.

“We need to attract businesses and industries that are creative and knowledge based and meet the career aspirations of our future generations.”

A resident in Mandurah for the past 14 years, Mr Hill agreed Mandurah had come a long way but believed a lot more needed to be done to “create a city that is vibrant, interesting and full of talented young people”.

Mr Hill has approached the City of Mandurah several times over the years to encourage growth in the region.

Mayor Paddi Creevey said she shared the same vision for Mandurah but stressed the reality of the region’s funding situation.

“We actively plan and budget to make sure young people can continue to live here,” Mayor Creevey said.

“We’ve been working toward improving the sporting facilities but we recognise the need for young people to have access to facilities for music, drama, singing and the arts.

“There has to be some way for creative expression.”

Mayor Creevey is working toward increasing the art sector in Mandurah with a civic and cultural precinct plan already formulated.

Her personal vision for Mandurah is to see a substantial performance space developed with auditoriums of different sizes.