Perth Voice Interactive

A GROUP of North Perth residents who lost the battle to prevent a nine-storey apartment development along Fitzgerald Street have turned their sights on trying to change WA’s planning laws.

Emily Bird and Neil Stacey were among the residents who gave deputations when the Celsius development came before the state-controlled JDAP last year.

Despite Vincent’s planning controls specifying six storeys for the area, the nine storeys were given the nod by the JDAP, which had three state-appointed experts and just one Vincent councillor presiding on the day.

Ms Bird and Mr Stacey say the group’s deputations were extremely well researched, with each member taking on a particular aspect, but they felt life they weren’t being listened to.

“We’ve learned the hard way that this is what happens all the time with these large-scale developments; that there is no fair say given to local authorities and the community,” Ms Bird told the Voice.

“And most people aren’t aware of what the process is, and they don’t understand why it’s happened.

“They blame the council a lot.”

She says while it wasn’t supported by councillors, the City’s planning staff backed the design despite overwhelming opposition from the community, with 77 per cent of respondents to public comments giving it a thumbs-down.

Done and dusted

“So that’s done and dusted,” Ms Bird said.

“We can’t stop them now, but because we’ve seen what’s happened here, we can also see that this kind of thing is going to keep happening all over metropolitan Perth, and it’ll snowball, and the buildings will get higher and higher.”

Mr Stacey said they were never against a development on the site, but nine storeys was a bit rich.

“If the discretion was an extra street or a metre on a setback, we were very, very clear that we supported a quality building in the correct location.

“The word NIMBY gets thrown around in that, and we are certainly not that.”

Mr Stacey said it has been difficult coalescing the many groups across the metropolitan area fighting against inappropriate developments in their own backyard, probably because that’s where their focus is, but they have forged some alliances.

The pair have launched a petition on the state Parliament website calling for a better balance between the interests of communities and developers. 

Ms Bird says it’s clear the power and influence of developers has seen the planning system heavily weighted in their favour.

The petition also calls for the re-introduction of third party appeals.

“We’re the only state that doesn’t have that,” she says.

“And we also want to address political donations from developers to political parties as well, because no one gives you money without expecting a return of some sort.”

The petition can be found at: https://www.parliament.wa.gov.au/Parliament/LCePetitions.nsf/($All)/DA305BBE2F6D39A048258B230019B16E?opendocument

by STEVE GRANT