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Aged care back on map

Julian Wright, Kalamunda ReporterMidland Kalamunda Reporter

The applicant for a 182-unit aged care facility recently amended and re-submitted plans after Planning Minister John Day rejected them in November last year.

Mr Day refused to allow Lot 500 Gravour Road to be rezoned from Special Rural to Special Use due to difficulties in connecting it to sewerage, a view he shared with the Water Corporation.

He was also against the urbanisation of the surrounding area.

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Shire of Kalamunda chief executive Rhonda Hardy said the applicant addressed the sewerage problem after the Water Corporation and Mr Day’s assessments.

‘Additional information was presented by the applicant, which included studies and information relating to on-site waste treatment,’ she said.

‘The applicant has sought to demonstrate how sewage could be managed on site.

‘Since the Minister’s decision, the WAPC had also endorsed the Shire’s Local Planning Strategy, meaning the planning context in which the previous decision was made has changed.’

More than 60 residents attended the meeting to hear the council’s decision, which was made unanimously after four deputations were made.

‘The Shire will seek the input of the EPA, Department of Health, Department of Environment Regulation, Department of Water and Water Corporation on their comments relating to the position put forward by the applicant,’ Ms Hardy said.

‘This information will be presented to council for their future deliberation of the amendment.’

Ms Hardy said the Shire was keen to address the need for aged care facilities.

‘There is a dire shortage of aged care accommodation options and this is one of the most important issues the Kalamunda council has been advocating for a number of years,’ she said.

‘This means those who require more full-time care and need to go to a nursing home or similar aged care facility often have to leave the Shire ” the place where they have spent their lives.

‘The Shire is still progressing Wilkins Road and is currently looking at additional sites that may be available in the Shire.

‘However, the shortage of residential care beds in the Shire is significant and as many as six such facilities are needed if we are to address the Shire’s ageing population.’

She said the number of older people living in the Shire doubled in the past 10 years and estimated that by 2030, one in every three people would be over 55 years old, with almost half of this population over 70.