State panel backs Shire of Augusta-Margaret River’s refusal of contentious Rapids Landing childcare centre

The developer of Rapids Landing and the Shire of Augusta-Margaret River have teamed up to help quash a contentious super-sized childcare development in the local suburb. The Shire council had already backed planners’ refusal of the proposed 92-place childcare centre, but a meeting last week of the regional Joint Development Assessment Panel formally ended the centre’s chances. The June 6 JDAP session heard the Lester Group also oppose the centre, which was slated for three blocks of land earmarked for homes. The biggest contention was around noise and amenity from the $2 million centre, which included extensive carparks and high fences, in an area marked for residential blocks, with fears the proposal failed to follow established planning guidelines for Rapids Landing. A 3-2 decision nixed the project, which sparked frustration from childcare advocates as well as the Margaret River Chamber of Commerce. Chamber executive Annie McFie said she was perplexed by the rejection, but understood it may have been related to size, scale, and character of the development. “If the current plan is unacceptable then we need to look at another solution,” she said. Ms McFie said rapid growth in suburban Margaret River and nearby Witchcliffe necessitated a rethink on childcare services in the region, which was needed to support workers and the local economy. The JDAP decision was the third overruling of proposed South West childcare centres in the past 12 months. The Shire was already locked in wrangling with the Lester Group over planning for a new commercial centre in Rapids Landing and noted the childcare centre’s location — on Leschenaultia Avenue and MacLaren Crescent — risked spreading commercial activity in the subdivision. The Shire said the proposal failed to integrate with the residential area, would affect neighbours, and could give rise to legal challenges because of residential covenants affecting existing home owners. The project also relied on the WA Planning Commission’s willingness to amalgamate the three residential lots required for the plan to proceed. A Shire report said the restrictive covenant limiting development of residential lots was not disclosed by the owners until the application for the childcare centre was under way. “The validity of the application was then called into question and has been subject to deliberation between lawyers on behalf of the applicant, Lester Group, on behalf of the owner, and the DAP secretariat,” the report said. The Shire report said the application failed to meet WAPC-endorsed plans including the subdivision’s 2006 Outline Development Plan, the Shire’s Local Planning Scheme, and the design principles of State Planning Policy 7.