PETITIONS have hit the streets of Subiaco against the new draft Local Planning Scheme (LPS), with Shenton Park local Katie Porter one of over 30 people gathering signatures.
Ms Porter said she was devastated to hear of the proposed changes to her suburb, and has been volunteering for the Save Subi campaign.
“It’s heartbreaking; it’s not just small additions, but multi-storey apartment blocks,” she said.
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The mother of three said residents were worried about amenities in the neighbourhood, parking and traffic, and raised concerns about already large student populations at local schools.
“If it goes through, people will look back and think it’s a big mistake,” she said.
“A lot of people are furious and passionate about this rezoning.”
Save Subi founder Genevieve Binnie said the campaign was crucial to protect the identity, architectural foundation and history of the area, and more people were contacting her to get on board.
“There is no need or justification for the rezoning in these areas as proposed in the plan, these historical neighbourhoods are of much higher value to the community and to Perth to remain as they are,” she said.
She said the petition, which was also online, had gathered close to 600 signatures so far.
Subiaco mayor Penny Taylor said the densities proposed by the Western Australian Planning Commission (WAPC) in the draft LPS were significantly greater than those envisaged by the city.
“We know what the state is trying to achieve; the city has a number of areas which fall within walkable catchments of the train stations of Shenton Park, Daglish, Subiaco and West Leederville, which makes them prime locations for increased density,” she said.
“However, the city had already met housing targets in our original proposal for [the] draft LPS, prior to the WAPC modifications.”
Ms Taylor said this, along with community feedback, would give the city a strong negotiating point for a more reasonable outcome for the whole of Subiaco, and that the WAPC Chairman and Planning Minister had both indicated they wanted to work with the city.
A spokesman for the Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage said the infill proposals in the LPS broadly reflected the Perth and Peel@3.5million land use planning and infrastructure frameworks.
He said the city had proposed increasing density around the town centre, mainly along Hay Street and Rokeby Road.
“The WAPC supported this approach however also required additional density to be shown in the areas around the Daglish and Shenton Park train stations so that these proposals could also be considered in the assessment and determination of the draft scheme,” he said.
The submission deadline for the Subiaco draft LPS is 5pm on Friday, July 13.
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