‘We believe the policy leaves the door open for significant nodes of development along the coast, and this paves the way for a developers’ paradise,’ Keep Cott Low (KCL) president John Hammond said.
A campaign by KCL and Cottesloe Council to stop development greater than five storeys on the east side of Marine Parade resulted in the council starting legal action last year.
The action centred on the Government’s 2011 request for a new local planning scheme allowing six to eight storeys at the Il Lido and Ocean Beach Hotel sites and an allegation that Planning Minister John Day breached the previous coastal planning policy when he asked that a new local planning scheme allow for heights greater than the council’s preferred three to five storeys.
However, the March state election and a review to create the new policy stalled the council’s bid for the Supreme Court to hear its case.
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READ NOWThe new policy includes rules for developments within 300m of a beach and that sand and dunes should not be affected by ‘significant’ overshadowing from development.
‘The finalised policy appears very similar to the revisions as proposed, with some minor modifications,’ council chief executive Carl Askew said.
Councillors last considered the policy when they suggested changes to the Government in March 2012. The Town’s lawyers are now investigating the implications of the new rules.