State takeover of station precincts leaves western suburbs councils fearing their plans will be pushed aside

Western suburbs councils say they’ve been sidelined by a State Government move to fast-track housing around train stations, leaving years of local planning work in limbo. On Sunday, Planning Minister John Carey announced 10 station precincts — including Cottesloe, Mosman Park and Swanbourne — would be coming under control of the WA Planning Commission, giving the WA Planning Commission the power to set height and density restrictions for future developments within an 800m radius. The State body would also be the arbitrator in deciding whether future developments, including high-rise apartments, should go ahead. Western suburb council leaders say their frustration isn’t to do with the plan to introduce high-rise to the areas. In fact, both the Mosman Park and Cottesloe councils were at pains this week to say infill and high-rise density allowances near their train stations are already set out in precinct structure plans awaiting approval from the WAPC. Cottesloe mayor Melissa Harkins said Sunday’s announcement threw the town’s PSP into uncertainty. “We are not anti-development and we are not NIMBYs. We understand why more density in Cottesloe is needed, which is why we have included it in our PSP,” she said. “But we want this to be done while being mindful to Cottesloe’s character and heritage, and having our own PSP allows for greater community feedback and council input.” Ms Harkins said the Cottesloe Village Precinct Structure Plan, which would allow for medium to high-density up to 16 storeys in the Cottesloe Village Precinct around Cottesloe Station and the shopping precinct around Napoleon Street, had been in the pipeline since 2020. However, Mr Carey said Cottesloe’s plan did not encompass a broad enough area. “While some local governments have taken steps to update planning frameworks around train stations, progress has been slow, and in many cases, density settings are far too low,” he said. “The Cottesloe council has not been ambitious enough in relation to the density that could occur at the train station.” Mr Carey also took issue with the Swanbourne station precinct, which sweeps across three different local governments operating local planning schemes at least a decade old, and mostly with two-storey height limits. Mosman Park mayor Paul Shaw said the town’s station precinct already contained significant high-rise density and was something the town had continued to plan for. “We were already heading down that path . . . the area already has high-rise development and there is more planned for the future,” Mr Shaw said. “These builds are high-quality and has added vibrancy and activation to the streetscape . . . so far it’s worked really well for us, so we’re not really concerned.” But despite sharing the Government’s vision, Mr Shaw said he was concerned Mr Carey’s Sunday announcement could end with the town’s draft PSP being superseded. “We’re hoping this won’t hold up our own PSP,” he said. “We’ve been working really hard with the town and the community to create this plan, and has cost us a fair bit of money and time. “So we’re hoping the Government recognises this work and can work with us going forward, and if it needs tweaking down the track then that’s OK with us.” WA Local Government Association president Karen Chappel accepted the change, despite it being yet another State Government reach into council planning powers. But she warned councils should be able to offload any community backlash about build-up plans for the precincts. “We are confident that the WAPC will listen to the community and the backlash will be to them . . . if someone is really angry and they’re really unhappy, they will now go to their local member of Parliament, not to their council or mayor,” Ms Chappel said. Other locations that were part of the announcement included Ballajura, Bassendean, Carlisle and Oats Street, Claisebrook, Glendalough, Morley, and Redcliffe. The State Government believes the station precincts have the ability to be developed for an additional 35,000 homes — and more will be declared in future. Mr Carey said he wasn’t anticipating any legal challenges from affected councils, adding “this is completely through the law under our Planning Act”.