Recently developer Ross Leighton placed an open letter to the Minister for Planning John Day in the Echo community paper (click to enlarge). The letter fails to tell the whole story and deliberately omits a number of crucial facts.

Here is our response to his letter -

• Mr Leighton states that the Shire of Kalamunda Planning staff have consistently recommended support for the Amendment over a period in excess of 5 years.  Mr Leighton fails to mention however that both the Department of Planning and the Western Australian Planning Commission have not supported the proposed Amendment and that the WAPC recommended to the Hon. Minister for Planning that the Amendment not be granted consent to advertise on the basis that the proposed Amendment could not be supported on town planning grounds.

• Mr Leighton states that as a result of Amendment No. 18 being put out to public consultation, 2039 submissions were received and approximately 89% were in support of the proposed Aged Cade Facility being progressed.  Mr Leighton fails to note that the majority of submissions received in support of the proposed Amendment were from the localities of Kalamunda (506), Lesmurdie (419), High Wycombe (264) and Gooseberry Hill (186).  These localities are positioned 5km, 3km, 10km and 8km (respectively) from the Amendment Site.

• Mr Leighton also fails to note that of the 164 residents of Wattle Grove who lodged a submission in respect of the proposed Amendment, a significant 86.5% objected to the Amendment. It is clear from these figures that the local community does not support the proposed Amendment.

• A review of the submissions received during public consultation also shows that the overwhelming majority of submissions received in support of the proposed Amendment were from the localities of Lesmurdie and Kalamunda, together representing over 50% of the total submissions received. Aged care facilities are clearly most in demand in these localities.

• Amendment No. 18 will facilitate a form of development that is inconsistent with the purpose and objectives of the site’s “Special Rural” zoning under the provisions of the Shire of Kalamunda Local Planning Scheme No. 3. ‘Aged Residential Care’ is specifically identified as a prohibited (“X”) use class in the “Special Rural” Zone.  In this regard, the proposed Amendment (if adopted) would facilitate a land use that would ordinarily not be permitted on the Amendment Site. The introduction of an urban land use comprising an estimated 220 detached dwellings in addition to an aged care facility comprising some 120 beds and a range of supporting infrastructure and facilities, will erode the rural landscape and irreversibly change the amenity of the locality.

• Not only is the proposed Scheme Amendment inconsistent with its “Special Rural” zoning under the Shire’s Local Planning Scheme No. 3, it is also inconsistent with the site’s “Rural” zoning under the Metropolitan Region Scheme which designates the site “Rural”.  The form of development facilitated by the proposed Amendment is clearly of an urban nature and should, in the normal manner of process, necessitate an amendment to the Metropolitan Region Scheme. The WAPC communicated this view to the Shire in June 2007.

• The need for an aged care facility does not justify the irreversible loss of amenity that would result should the proposed Amendment be implemented.  The WAPC and the Hon. Minister for Planning have a responsibility to consider the full range of considerations which contribute to determining whether or not a proposed use is suitable and appropriate for a particular location. The perceived but unquantified demand or need for a proposed use is not in itself so significant as to exceed other considerations adverse to the use. If the need for aged care is of such importance to the Shire to the extent that the Council is prepared to initiate a drastic departure from the provisions of its own Scheme and waives all obligations to consider rational town planning arguments which clearly demonstrate the proposed use is not suitable or acceptable in the Special Rural Zone, it is appropriate to question why the Shire did not rectify the apparent failings of its Scheme prior to its adoption of LPS 3 in 2007.

• The Special Use provisions and conditions proposed to be included in Schedule 4 of LPS 3 via Amendment No. 18 are inadequate, in that they fail to address important considerations such as access, protection of visual amenity, interface with Welshpool Road, noise, and built form. Furthermore, the proposed scheme provisions intended to control the proposed development are significantly lacking. All that is required under the proposed Scheme provisions is that at least one occupant of any dwelling must have reached the age of 55 years and that development on site shall be connected to a reticulated sewer service or alternative system. The proposed Special Use provisions provide no statutory requirement for the provision of high end aged care on the Amendment Site despite the Shire acknowledging that it is high care not low care facilities (such as a retirement village) that are specifically required.  Given the proposal has effectively been advanced on the basis that it will provide high end residential care, the omission of Scheme controls in this regard is astonishing.  In fact the proposed Scheme provisions are so open and flexible that the form of development permitted is wide ranging.

• Amendment No. 18 does not satisfy the requirements of the Government Sewerage Policy – Perth Metropolitan Region. The Department of Health has considered the proposed Amendment and advised the Shire that the proposed development does not comply with the Government Sewerage Policy and cannot comply without connection to reticulated sewer. The Amendment Site is not currently serviced by reticulated sewer and the Water Corporation advises that it has no plans to extend its sewer infrastructure to this locality in the foreseeable future.  Mr Leighton has not explained how he intends to service the proposed Aged Care development in this regard.

• Amendment No. 18 is inconsistent with many of the recommendations contained within the Shire’s Aged Accommodation Strategy (2008). The Aged Accommodation Strategy recognises an overall need throughout the Shire for additional aged persons’ accommodation but importantly identifies the need to properly plan for such facilities through a comprehensively prepared planning and design framework.  In this regard, the Aged Accommodation Strategy specifically refers to the need for a local planning policy which establishes locational and design criteria and a consistent framework for planning and considering proposals for residential care. The Shire’s Aged Accommodation Strategy also recommends that aged persons accommodation be located around the town centres of Kalamunda and Forrestfield and other shopping and commercial hubs.  The Amendment Site is not located in proximity to any town centres or shopping areas and accordingly does not and cannot satisfy this recommendation.

• There is a need to ensure that sites for Aged or Dependant Persons’ Accommodation have reasonable access to shopping, community and public transport facilities. The Amendment Site is located approximately 1.7km from the nearest shopping centre in Forrestfield and is therefore not within walking distance.  This shopping centre is also located north of Welshpool Road which further reduces accessibility for residents. Community, recreation and health facilities are similarly distanced from the Amendment Site meaning the development will be largely insular and contribute little to the local community.

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