THE details of the Housing Minister Peter Tinley’s offer to the City of Canning regarding the Bentley Regeneration Project have been made public.
The matter had been deemed confidential at the City’s February 13 agenda briefing but was made public in the subsequent agenda for the February 20 council meeting, with some material kept confidential for councillors.
Because the State can no longer offer a 5 per cent return for Crown Reserves, it is looking to compensate the City should it give up control of the land, by demolishing Brownlie Towers and hand over cash for regeneration projects.
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READ NOWThere are still some residents with connections to Brownlie Towers, and services like the Bentley Library, community centre and Pendana Day Centre would need to relocate should the offer be accepted.
The offer is expected to be discussed by councillors tonight after being delayed by the council since December in a move that reportedly frustrated Mr Tinley.
The offer requires the City to surrender the management orders over the Southern Reserve Lands, for nearly $5.6 million compensation.
The government is prepared to pay an extra $4 million compensation over the life of the regeneration project for the upgrading of parks, infrastructure and communities facilities within and surrounding the precinct.
The City wants to see the $4 million in the form of a community development fund.
The offer was outlined in a letter dated September 21 that was sent to Canning chief executive Arthur Kyron by Planning Minister Rita Saffioti and Mr Tinley and released publicly in the council agenda.
In the letter, the ministers acknowledged that termination of the City’s existing agreement with Sunshine Developments to develop the City-owned land at Lot 40 Queens Street (the former aquatic centre) was unacceptably high.
The ministers said they were prepared to offer the existing compensation arrangements without the need for the former aquatic centre site to also be made available to the Department of Communities.
The City has been working on terms of agreement and close collaboration with the Department of Communities is proposed, including a joint approach to media coverage.
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