Melanie Eleonora and about 600 other residents spoke out against an application made to the Shire of Kalamunda for a place of worship on Rooth Road in the Stirkwood Estate.
However, their objections fell on deaf ears when the Shire of Kalamunda approved the application at a recent council meeting.
Ms Eleonora said residents had nothing against the applicant ” Kalamunda Gospel Trust, or the Plymouth Brethren ” that intend to use the property, but was afraid of the impacts on the area from future developments.
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READ NOW‘We all bought land and property in this estate for a reason and this building will not look like the houses in the area; it doesn’t complement the estate,’ she said.
‘The place of worship will not benefit the community because it is exclusive and residents will not be permitted to use it.
‘But the main thing is that if it is sold on as a place of worship, there is no guarantee that the next owners won’t be disruptive.’
She said the application was passed with a recommendation that stated ‘the property (will not be) used for Community Purpose or Club Premises purposes as defined under Local Planning Scheme No. 3’.
‘I want to investigate that it is legally binding,’ she said.
Ms Eleonora said she was angry the Shire did not appear to consider residents’ views when making the approval decision.
‘Two separate petitions were submitted, each with more than 250 signatures, and 80 letters of objection were sent to the Shire, but they didn’t take any notice,’ she said.
‘A traffic management report was made that said the place of worship would create ‘minimal impact’ but not zero impact, so there will still be an impact.’
‘I will keep on this issue’