Clarifications on Zoning
This page is to clarify any misapprehensions about:
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Defending Rural Banjup Is What Residents Instructed the Committee to Do
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Preserving Banjup’s Rural Amenity
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Residents Who Might Consider Rezoning Their Properties
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Doubling Housing Density
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What Would Happen If the WAPC Were to Re-Zone All Banjup as Urban?
BRG general meetings are open to all members to have their say and to vote on motions to instruct the Committee on courses of action. Members’ emails are welcome at any time.
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Defending Rural Banjup Is What Residents Instructed the Committee to Do
All 400 residences in Banjup were invited in March 2024 to attend the BRG AGM at the Banjup Hall. The flyer placed in every letter box included in bold:
What do we want for Banjup in the future?
No rezoning on horizon
Rural peace and tranquillity?
What do you want your Committee to do?
Tell us your Vision
On 2 February 2024 all BRG members were emailed a draft “Banjup Vision” for discussion at the AGM on 10 March. Members were encouraged to reply with their views and to attend the AGM. A similar, reminder email was sent to all members on 24 February 2024.
The Vision discussed at the AGM on 10 March 2024 included these words:
Banjup –
A safe, green haven of peace and tranquillity
for residents, wildlife, and vegetation, for now and future generations
What do we want the Committee to do?
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Advocate to
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Protect our rural zoning
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Reduce through traffic
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Enhance reserves
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Reduce fuel loads
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Remove feral animals
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As minuted, the meeting endorsed the Vision unanimously
No emails were received dissenting from the Vision.
The Banjup Vision was uploaded to the Banjup web page a few days later. It can be seen in full at Banjup Vision | Banjup Residents
At the AGM on 16 March 2025, the Banjup Vision was again discussed by members who approved this Mission statement:
BRG strives to preserve and improve our rural areas as safe, green havens of peace and tranquillity for our local community
All presentation materials and minutes can be seen at Meetings and Minutes | Banjup Residents Group
2. Preserving Banjup’s Rural Amenity
The threat of encroachment on Banjup was first discussed at a general meeting of BRG members on 10 September 2017. As minuted:
Banjup’s rural amenity could be lost by planning ‘white anting’, with parcels of land being urbanised over the coming years until Banjup becomes a very different place. He asked members to consider over the coming months whether they wanted Banjup’s rural amenity to be preserved or whether members should actively seek rezoning.
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The encroachment threat and how to respond to it has been with us ever since.
At the AGM of 11 March 2018 the threat was again discussed. As minuted:
Members agreed that Banjup needs explicit protection from encroachment if it is to avoid the fate of rural Jandakot and Treeby whose rural amenity was eroded over several years owing to the neglect of planners.
At the AGM of 26 June 2022, members unanimously:
re-endorsed the position held explicitly since 2017 by the Banjup Residents Group that the rural character and amenity of Banjup should be protected and not severely damaged by encroaching urban and commercial developments as rural Jandakot and Treeby had been.
The WAPC’s proposed Amendment 1437 to urbanise Lot 709 could mark the beginning of a series of piecemeal initiatives that erode Banjup’s amenity and rural character. The construction of 900 houses would generate an estimated 9,000 additional vehicle movements per day on Banjup’s roads—without even accounting for traffic from the Lake Treeby development. What impact will this have on residents of Hebble Loop, who may soon find themselves living next to 900 new neighbours?
We’ve seen this pattern before. Between 2010 and 2020, rural landowners in Jandakot and Treeby experienced a near-total loss of amenity due to escalating traffic on Jandakot Road and rapid development in Piara Waters, Calleya, and the Airport commercial precincts. In a 2017 survey conducted by the City of Cockburn, 80% of BRG members in those areas supported rezoning—not because they welcomed urbanisation, but because their properties had become undesirable and difficult to sell.
It wasn’t until 2023 that the WAPC’s Planning Investigation recommended rezoning the entire area as “Urban.” While many residents welcomed the decision, some long-term landowners vowed to stay. Unfortunately, the District Structure Plan currently out for public consultation suggests they may be surrounded by hundreds of new homes, effectively built out over the 40 year horizon of the Plan.
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If Amendment 1437 sets a precedent, land developers will likely push for further rezonings across Banjup. They will lobby the WAPC to review the suburb’s zoning, and our green haven could be gradually eroded—despite residents’ consistent efforts to preserve its rural character. This would be in direct contrast to WA Planning Minister John Carey’s statement on 10 August 2023:
“… the finalisation of these last two PIAs … complete an extensive planning exercise to ensure our city has sufficient land to accommodate for future urban growth”
Indeed, the WAPC’s recent population forecasts show that there is plenty of land in the south metro region until 2052.
Considering these concerns and the resolutions of members to preserve and protect Banjup’s rural amenity, the BRG is opposing Amendment 1437.
