Subiaco residents rally at annual electors meeting to have say on Fresh Start

IT was a full house at Subiaco’s annual electors meeting last night as residents rallied to have their say on Fresh Start moving in to York Street.

The public gallery was packed with locals waiting to speak on the lodging house, Shenton Park parking and more, with councillors sitting among the crowd and a man standing in the doorway with a ‘CCC for Subi’ sign.

After a tense start with malfunctioning microphones, the hot topics of the night came to the fore.

Subiaco chief executive Don Burnett said it would be inappropriate to address questions about 16-20 York Street.

“We can’t consider them because they relate to the property, which is the subject of Supreme Court action,” he said.

Supreme Court papers were filed by eight residents last week, with State Administrative Tribunal proceedings underway simultaneously.

Resident Phil Cresswell spoke out from the public gallery.

“You’ve dodged and weaved and pushed us to the Supreme Court,” he said.

After conferring with Mr Burnett, mayor Penny Taylor said anyone who would like to speak to the crowd could do so, as long as issues directly related to York Street were framed as a statement.

Nine residents spoke, and raised issues including the appropriate processes to continue the non-conforming use at York Street and concerns about ratepayers paying Supreme Court costs.

“How many times in the last six years has council bypassed planning process?” resident Gillian Anderson asked.

The question was taken on notice.

A motion posed by resident Chantelle O’Sullivan for model litigant policy was carried, and will be added to the January meeting agenda.

The motion will go to the next council meeting on January 23, 2018.

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