Wattle Grove Vision

Letter Wizard

Objections to the Shire of Kalamunda's Conduct with regard to the Approval of their Draft Local Planning Strategy

Please visit our home page for more information about this issue.

Instructions

This simple letter wizard will make it very easy for you to send a letter of objection.

1. Fill out the form below, selecting as many items from the checklist as you like.
2. Add your own personal comments at the end.
3. Click "Generate Letter". You will be presented with a pdf document (You will require Acrobat Reader). A copy will also be emailed to you.
4. Print your letter.
5. Sign them and post them!

Thankyou for taking the time to make a difference.

Which of the following best describe the stake you have in this project?

I am a concerned rate payer a concerned citizen

The following sentence will be added to your letter:

"I am writing to express my concern in relation to the conduct of the Kalamunda Shire's officers and the majority of its councillors. I am particularly concerned about the lack of due diligence and consideration in respect to the Local Planning Strategy that was recently adopted by the Shire.

I have outlined my concerns below -"

Please select from the following list your greatest concerns:

By the Shire of Kalamunda’s own admission 85% of residents (188 submissions) are opposed to the Local Planning Strategy as it applies to Wattle Grove being rezoned to an urban development area. Only 11% (25 submissions) were in favour of this and 4% (7 submissions) were neutral. An overwhelming response from residents has been completely ignored.
Councillors are again not listening to the residents of Wattle Grove and it appears they never intend to. On the 3rd of October 2011, several councillors admitted that they had not read the public submissions prior to voting at the Special Council meeting.
The Shires actions are not consistent with the intention of Section 12c 3 of the Town Planning Regulations 1967. This section states that the Local Authority shall do the following after expiry of the period within which submissions may be made: (a) review the Local Planning Strategy in the light of any submissions made and advice received; (b) adopt the Local Planning Strategy with such modifications as it thinks fit to give effect to the submissions and advice.
The Shire of Kalamunda claims in the Local Planning Strategy that urbanising Wattle Grove is consistent with Directions 2031. This is NOT the case. Directions 2031 does not identify Wattle Grove in any of the five Urban expansion categories identified for Urban over the next 20 years. Directions 2031 simply identifies Wattle Grove as "having potential for possible future consideration as an Urban investigation area".
The Shire states that the Water Corporation have indicated that services can be provided to the Wattle Grove area east of Tonkin Highway. The Shire also states that “the issue is not so much whether the services can be brought to the area, but rather who is prepared to do so”. The shire has however omitted to disclose the most relevant part of the Water Corporations advice - the provision of services to Wattle Grove east is also a matter of TIMING, COST and importantly PRIORITY. In respect to priority and timing, the Water Corporation has no plans to extend its sewer infrastructure to this locality in the foreseeable future. The Shire even contradict themselves within their own documentation when they state “from a planning perspective, Wattle Grove is considered suitable for future urban development given the area is adjacent to the existing urban front, has potential access to services”. Note that it states “potential access”, not access to services.
The Shire’s councillors received a document of compiled submissions on Friday the 30th of September 2011 to look at. This only gave them 3 days to look at and thoughtfully consider the submissions before the Special Council meeting. In my opinion the Shire is abrogating its duties when it calls for submissions from all of the state bodies and ratepayers and then fails to allow the councillors sufficient time to read and assimilate those responses.
It appears that the majority of Shire of Kalamunda councillors only listen to certain individuals and not to the wider views and concerns of the people who actually elect them and those that will be affected directly by their actions.
In light of issues such as climate change and peak oil which will require our population to shift to a low carbon society, urban dense development should occur in areas that are close to public transport (e.g. rail services) and essential services (e.g. shops and medical services). The Local Planning Strategy appears to be based on the assumption that rail will be coming to the foothills in the near future, however the Public Transport Authority has recently indicated that it has no plans to build such infrastructure any time soon (see report “Public Transport for Perth in 2031” - http://www.transport.wa.gov.au/aboutus/23281.asp).

Please provide a paragraph with your additional comments here.

The following will then be added before your signature:

"For the reasons I have outlined above, I urge you to look into this matter.
I look forward to hearing your reply.
Yours sincerely"

Your details (all required)

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When you click this button you will be presented with a pdf document containing your letter for you to print, sign and post. You will also be emailed a copy of the letter.