A GROUP of Banjup residents fear their “environmentally sensitive” suburb could become a victim of Perth’s urban sprawl.
Sydney-based land developer Mirvac has sought to rezone a 46-hectare site adjoining Armadale and Liddelow Roads from “rural water protection” to “urban deferred”, paving the way for suburbia amidst a mostly rural neighbourhood.
The Banjup Residents Group represents the 400-odd homes that mostly sit on five-acre lots, and spokesperson Andrew Thelander fears that the proposed development, which would push the area to an R30 zoning, sets a precedent that could change Banjup forever.
The region scheme amendment is currently up for consultation until September 12, when the WAPC will make a decision about the Lot’s future.
The lot is heavily cleared – something the residents believe was done deliberately to make development applications easier – and has been deemed “of no ecological significance” by the EPA, but Dr Thelander says that’s short-sighted.
• Banjup residents fear turning this lot, which sits above the Jandakot water mound, into housing, sets a dangerous precedent for the largely rural suburb.
“Currently sitting on that property is eight hectares of water, it’s part of the wetlands, it’s part of the drainage system and they’re planning to put 1.5 million tonnes of sand on it… what happens to a natural drainage system you buried under the sand,” he said.
Dr Thelander reckons the residents group “don’t have the right” to discuss the issue with the WAPC given the site’s still technically rural, and says the decision’s impact on the remaining suburb could be profound.
“This land stopped being grazing land for cattle in the 50s and 60s and has been divvied up into these five acre blocks, and a massive tree canopy has developed.”
“They’ve essentially said, we’re going to [zone it] urban deferred, which means to us that even though they’re not saying they’re going to build now, they’re basically going to allow all of the agencies to say what the problems are with building here are, so they can be circumvented,” he said.
“One hundred per cent of the time, when you go through to urban deferred, the developers figure out a way to overcome obstacles.
“Once you set the precedent, you will find a piecemeal destruction of the entire suburb… this isn’t something they’re half thinking of doing.”
Under the WAPC’s South Metropolitan Peel Sub-Regional Planning Framework from 2018, there is already “sufficient capacity” to accommodate Perth’s projected population of 3.5 million people by 2052 which did not include Lot 709 until recently.
“When you look at the need for housing, the WAPC has put out their plans up until 2056 which show that Perth is going to grow to 3.5 million [people], and basically they have said in all of those documents that Banjup is protected,” Dr Thelander said.
“All of a sudden, an opportunity has arisen… to us what it means that if this amendment passes and we can’t stop it by September 12… all future developments of a similar ilk will have to be allowed to go through.
Wetland
“[The government] have already made provision for the houses that they feel that they need… I want to keep coming back to that, that there are contextual issues, but they have been addressed by previous reports from agencies which state that this particular land is not needed.”
The residents are aware of the state government’s desire to build more homes to accommodate WA’s growing population, according to Dr Thelander.
“When you’re one of 408 properties in a small group, and Australia is in the largest housing crisis in its history, we’re very aware of the context and we’re not trying to sound like a bunch of entitled landowners,” he said.
“If you look aerially at the City of Cockburn, you’ll see that this is one of the last metropolitan gems left… it’s a really tricky thing to say, but sometimes you have to protect the natural treasures that you’ve got.”
The Chook reached out to the WAPC for comment.
by KATHERINE KRAAYVANGER