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Gnangara residents fight urban proposal to rezone homes for development

Lauren PedenWanneroo Times

The council endorsed a submission to the WA Planning Commission at its July 21 meeting that included rezoning rural land east and west of Sydney Road and west of Badgerup Road.

Deputy Mayor Dot Newton has put forward a motion to retract the decision and ask the WAPC to properly consult residents for their views on the future use of the area.

It also wants the plan be released as a draft for public comment rather than as a final plan.

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At last Tuesday’s briefing, Gnangara resident Cathy Broadbent, who has lived in the suburb for 12 years, said she was concerned the council had supported the framework.

“As a group of residents we are feeling very unloved at the moment by our councillors and I think approval of that framework has caused us to feel further unloved,” she said.

“Out in Gnangara, we have always been special rural.

“Suddenly we have hoisted upon us a new framework – one that we as a group of residents were totally unaware of and had no opportunity to respond. We were given a two-week extension which is just totally impractical to respond to.”

She said residents’ research and inquiries into the timeframe of the WAPC’s draft framework revealed it could be imposed within five years.

“In the original East Wanneroo plan we were considered to be a buffer zone for all the wildlife that we have out there,” she said.

“Suddenly, our compliance with all of the rules that go with special rural and that buffer zone have been turfed out the window and totally ignored with this framework.

“My question to each and every one of you is wouldn’t it be lovely to retain a certain part of Wanneroo where people want to live, not all crammed and hemmed in like we have in other suburbs?”