A DEVELOPER has resubmitted an application for a block of apartments in Applecross despite still having an appeal against its original rejection being dealt with by the state administrative tribunal.
The unprecedented second bite has local opponents of the 21 Kishorn Road development, which is four, five or six storeys depending on who you’re talking to, crying foul.
The original application by Yaran Group was supported by Melville council’s planners, who said it complied with the Canning Bridge masterplan which allows four storeys on the site.
But the South West Development Application Panel rejected the plans, siding with locals who complained a mezzanine effectively added a fifth storey. Others reckoned a proposed rooftop garden with a lightweight shade structure actually added a sixth level.
The project sits in the price range that allows developers to choose either the DAP or the council as the decision-maker, and given Melville’s staff have given it the green light, Yaran feels it might have a better time going that route.
Fighting
Resident Chris Young has been fighting the 21-unit development and says submitting virtually the same application while it’s still before the SAT shouldn’t be allowed.
To get around the problem, Melville council’s CEO Shayne Silcox has said the council won’t deal with the application until the appeal has run its course in the SAT. The Herald understands Yaran is likely to withdraw the appeal.
Mr Young says he feels the council also overstepped the mark in its efforts to support the development in the first place.
“I have never seen a council work so hard with a developer,” Mr Young says.
“I just can’t understand why they’d do that to the detriment of other residents.”
Mr Young says the Canning Bridge masterplan virtually ignored the needs of long-term residents, focussing solely on land speculators and renters.
He’s also angry that because Melville’s planners had decided the Kishorn Road development complied with the masterplan it only issued an informal notification about the project, which prevented neighbours from submitting comments.
He says similarly large projects should always be opened for proper consultation.
by STEVE GRANT
