Support for more public open spaces

Kwinana Mayor Carol Adams raised the motion at her council then took it to councils from the South Metropolitan Zone.

Meanwhile, the State Government launched a planning document for the next 35 years that will focus on infill to prevent urban sprawl, called Perth and Peel@3.5million.

Cr Adams said the local government sector was advocating for more public open space (POS) as a trade-off for higher density.

In her motion to council, she said the original 10 per cent of public open space requirement was introduced in the 1950s and was based on an assumed population density of about 7.8 dwellings per gross hectare of residential land.

"Today's target dwelling density equates to approximately 20 dwellings per gross residential hectare which is clearly far higher, even though the 10 per cent POS requirement has remained the same."

She said it was only reasonable that developers provided more open space and the quality should also be reviewed, because "pocket handkerchief" POS did not allow for families to kick the ball around which was one critical purpose of POS - to be active.

Councils from the South Metropolitan Zone met last week and include Rockingham, Cockburn, Kwinana, Melville, Fremantle and East Fremantle.

"The WALGA Secretariat supported our motion and report and this will now go to the State council for consideration," she said.

"Kwinana is quite lucky as we do have above-average public open opace. My motion was to look at the whole metropolitan area and try and save what bushland and parks we can while we can," Cr Adams said.

Planning is under way to accommodate 1.26 million people in Perth's south metropolitan and Peel region by 2050, more than doubling the present population.

The draft plan covers the cities of Armadale, Cockburn, Gosnells, Kwinana, Mandurah and Rockingham and the shires of Murray, Serpentine-Jarrahdale and Waroona, Planning Minister John Day said.