Local Planning Strategy
Council Approves Local Planning Strategy
In April 2023 Cockburn Council approved the draft Local Planning Strategy that had been subject to public consultation over the previous few months. The BRG had lobbied successfully to have the Banjup Preservation Principles included in the Strategy text:
1. The City's continuing strategic intent for Banjup that its natural landscapes maintain a positive and memorable rural appearance.
2. Banjup Is a highly appreciated, rural locality whose character and amenity will be preserved by the City.
3. Banjup will be advocated as a highly appreciated, naturally rich, rural locality to:
I. State and Commonwealth governments, particularly when planning its long-term future,
II. Property developers contemplating changes to Banjup’s rural status.
4. The City will earnestly seek to resolve the zoning anomaly in the south west corner of Banjup.
5. The intended function of the roads in Banjup Is for traffic within its local area and not for traffic between outside areas and they will be managed as such.
6. Reserves in Banjup will be preserved as accessible places of peace and quiet with rich flora and fauna.
7. Ecological linkages within and between reserves In Banjup will be developed and maintained for the enjoyment and amenity of residents and visitors.
8. The City will continuously encourage and Inform Banjup landowners in the safe and sustainable stewardship and preservation of their lands so that future generations living in Banjup can enjoy increasingly richer flora and fauna.
These principles will inform how Banjup will be managed by Cockburn over the coming 10 to 15 years.
Local Planning Strategy
Public Consultation
What Is a Local Planning Strategy and Why Does It Matter?
Cockburn’s Local Planning Strategy will apply for 10 to 15 years. It sets out how land within the City will be used and developed in the future.
It will describe the City’s approach to managing and developing our area. Lower level plans for environment, roads, housing, and so on must be consistent with the LPS.
If the planning framework for our area were to remain as it has been for the past 30 years, then our responses to the LPS would be straightforward. However, the state government has cast doubt on our future and final decisions might not be made for 2 or 3 years. After that, Banjup, Jandakot, and Treeby could remain zoned wholly rural, or rezoned wholly urban, or somewhere in between.
If the LPS is not responsive to our changing needs for the next 10 years, then the future of Banjup, Jandakot, and Treeby as rural retreats will be at risk.
What Does the City of Cockburn Seek Comment Upon?
Our discussions with the City of Cockburn have confirmed that they are seeking comments only on the 250 page Local Planning Strategy document and not on the one page or even on the letter sent to your address.
You may make comment about the one page My Suburb but they will just note them and might change their emphasis here and there in the LPS. At the end of the public consultation there will be little of the one page that is taken forward.
That said, the City and the BRG encourage you to make your own personal submission about the LPS and suburb summary in addition to supporting the BRG submission. The Committee's observations on the suburb summaries for Banjup and for Jandakot and Treeby are here
The City was clear that the consultation on the LPS is not a survey on whether residents want to be rezoned or not.
Some Want to Sell, Others Want to Stay
Your Committee understands that some residents want to remain in their properties and enjoy their rural lifestyle for many years. Other residents see urbanisation as inevitable and would be inclined to accept land developers’ offers. This could lead to a mosaic of property types across our area. There could be 30 to 40 hectare urban developments alongside groups of adjacent properties whose owners choose to stay rural. Equally, such groups of properties might just be waiting for the next stage in a developer’s plans and then selling.
Either way, over the horizon of the City’s LPS, the rural amenity of the current 400 rural landowners in Banjup, or the 300 or the 200 future remaining landowners needs to be assured. Similarly, the 200 current landowners in rural Jandakot and Treeby, or the future 100 or less that remain. Those who sold will have moved on.
No-one can force you to sell your land. The position taken by the Committee is not to impede those who wish to sell but equally to protect the interests of those who remain.
Weaving Contingencies into the LPS
These are uncertain times for rural residents and yet we are being asked by the City of Cockburn to give certainty to its Local Planning Strategy that was drafted before the state government announced its review of land uses over the Jandakot water mound.
To resolve this conundrum, your Committee has woven into our suggestions for the LPS the two scenarios: no change in the next 2 to 3 years at least and any gradual change thereafter that protects the interests of those remaining.
What Would We Like You to Do Now
Cockburn’s LPS document covers 250 pages. The BRG Committee has made comment on about 40 of them – you can download all pages with our comments here
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If you are content to support the Committee’s comments on the LPS, then please email stratplanning@cockburn.wa.gov.au and copy to secretary.banjup@gmail.com with words along these lines:
Re: Draft Local Planning Strategy
We support the submission made by the Banjup Residents Group on the City’s draft Local Planning Strategy.
Regards
Your name
Your address
We know that this has been a long read but these are tricky times and we need to get things right for our futures.
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Thank you for your understanding and support.
