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City cool on Banjup plan

Staff ReporterFremantle Gazette

The proposal, by town planners Chappell Lambert Everett on behalf of a prospective buyer, was to rezone about 60ha of land in east Banjup on the north side of Armadale Road from ‘rural-water protection’ to ‘urban’.

The City chose not to back the amendment, saying issues over development on the Jandakot Water Mound, road infrastructure requirements and connections to Cockburn Central had not been resolved in a plan put forward by the proponent.

It was suggested the geological attributes of the water mound site were identical to the nearby Calleya community project, a suburbanisation of the former Banjup Quarry.

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But a city officer’s report said any future planning on the mound would require ‘comprehensive state and local level strategic planning’, citing the Calleya development as a test case given the environmental sensitivities of the area.

‘The Calleya proposition was only considered after extensive research into the potential environmental impacts, in particular, the impact on the groundwater mound,’ the report says.

‘Given development has not commenced, it is difficult to determine environmental impacts, if any, of urban development on the mound without the benefit of analysis or any positive evidence on which to base decisions.’

The City was concerned with a lack of information on impacts on traffic, and the limited discussion of facilities besides a school.

City planning and development director Daniel Arndt said the City would not support the proposal until the necessary planning is undertaken.

‘The State Government will likewise need to find evidence of the strategic need and merit of the proposal, which covers details of social, environmental and economic considerations,’ he said.