The fate of the Lemnos Street Bush will be decided this Monday 19th November. The Statutory Planning Committee (SPC) of the WAPC will make their crucial decision in a special meeting closed to the public.

And it doesn’t look good! The officer’s report supports development in the bushland.

Could this be why the fence along the bush has recently been fortified? Is the government worried about backlash from the public?  They should be.

Bush Not Bricks campaigners are very angry and frustrated. Despite 4 years of questioning, LandCorp and the Department of Planning have failed to provide legitimate answers as to why they should be permitted to develop on this significant native bushland and greatly diminish, if not ruin, an important ecological corridor.

According to the Minister for Planning, the only justification for this destructive plan is to reach (arbitrary) infill targets of between 1,100 -1,600+ dwellings. We argue that the 300 proposed units in the bushland need not be built to achieve the lower targets. Plus with better design east of the bushland, such as removing proposed single family houses, the higher target could be met or even exceeded.

 The SPC meeting was announced just a few days after we received the results of the parliamentary inquiry into the questionable planning process of the rehab hospital redevelopment site in Shenton Park, now known as ‘Montario Quarter’.

Unfortunately, the response was highly disappointing!  It took over a year for the Legislative Council’s Standing Committee on Environment and Public Affairs to tell us what we already knew. Whilst we appreciate the Committee’s time and effort, the inquiry did not shed any new light on the issues raised and did not answer the questions posed in the petition. 

We say LandCorp's latest plan is non-compliant with State Planning Policy 2.8 (Perth’s bushland), the Capital City Planning Framework, the Western Suburbs Greening Plan and the SPP 3.7 (Bushfire Planning Policy). The plan goes against good science and conservation practices, plus the City of Nedland’s and the community’s wishes to save the bushland.

We are now counting on the SPC to vote down this proposal, save the entire ecological linkage and restore our faith in the planning system.

If they don’t, is any green space in Perth safe from the developers, LandCorp and the Department of Planning?

What can you do? Please send a brief email addressed to the Statutory Planning Committee (SPC) of the WAPC asking them to uphold good infill and conservation practises and save the entire ecological corridor. Save Lemnos Street Bush!  (email: committees@planning.wa.gov.au)

You can view the Revised Master Plan for the Woodland Precinct in the Agenda for the 19th Nov SPC meeting on the WAPC website: https://www.planning.wa.gov.au/7808.asp