Residents stand their ground on public open space

By Rashelle Predovnik

NUNILE property owners are ramping up efforts to have their protest heard with a
petition to council opposing the shire’s plans to build on public open space, create smaller
lots and include social housing in the mix.

In March, the Toodyay council voted to release a scheme amendment for public
comment, that would allow the shire to unlock 4.3ha of land for housing on a part
of Lot 9508.

The shire owned lot is currently zoned as public open space, with the part to be rezoned
bounded by Drummond St East, Murray Walkway and Jarratt Pass.

However the land borders the Riverhills Estate, where many residents paid a premium
for blocks overlooking land they were told would never be built on.

The remaining 9.8ha of the 14.1ha site is for the Toodyay Sports and Recreation Complex.

If Lot 9508 is rezoned to residential it will have a density coding of R20 and R35.
R20 means one house can be built per 450m² of land and two dwellings would be allowed on a 900m² lot.

The smaller R35 zones are intended for grouped dwellings, with a maximum of 19 units.

After extensive advertising, the public comment period seeking feedback closed on May 16.

That month, a petition with 48 signatures was handed to council, objecting to the
proposal because it contradicted the town’s 10-year planning vision to preserve the
town’s lifestyle and character.

The signatures came from houses on Rayner Loop, Lynn Lookout, Gadstone
Pass, Drummond St East, Weedon Ent, and Tomkins Bend.
Petitioners said the R35 coding would allow 200m2 and 300m2 blocks to be created,
which would urbanise Nunile.

Drummond St resident Kurt Rose said no one in the area was happy about it.

He said if he knew the site would become a housing estate, he wouldn’t have bought
his block.

“I would have moved to Chidlow and paid a bit extra and I’m pretty sure a lot of people
would have bought elsewhere too.”

Residents are also questioning the need to develop the shire’s land at all, with a number of approved land releases already on the market, including one nearby.

According to the shire’s own planning strategy, Toodyay already has enough zoned
land to yield nearly 4,000 additional housing lots.

The strategy estimates, a total population of 14,493 people could potentially be supported
with the current stock of zoned land.

And that number far exceeds the shire’s projected population growth of 10,000
people by 2061.

Another parcel of land the shire owns, that was used for drainage and zoned for
residential development, will be rezoned as public open space if the scheme amendment
proceeds.

The petitioners argue the swap is a poor one: trading almost 10 acres of usable green
space for a sloping, flood-prone patch of land less than a quarter of an acre in size.

Toodyay Shire President Mick McKeown said the community wanted the shire to focus
on responsible growth and development, and this included improved access to housing.

He said council committed to work to enable access to affordable, sustainable and diverse
housing options as part of its 10-year plan.

“Rezoning of part of the shire’s freehold property in Drummond St will allow the expansion of utilities, including scheme water and deep sewerage, into a new
residential area to allow for future homes close to existing community facilities.”

Cr McKeown said funding made available to the shire for development was to help build
affordable housing in Toodyay.

“But not, for example, to provide land to Homes West.”

But residents’ concerns their rural retreat may turn into a low-income housing hub
were sparked when shire staff admitted at a public information session, they can’t control
who buys subdivided lots.

The shire’s plans to make land available, aligns with a broader state government
initiative to boost housing across rural towns.

Local governments are encouraged toapply for both state and federal funding to
help them to do this.

Residents told The Herald they wanted toknow more about the cost of development for
ratepayers, with concerns the shire’s history of cost blowouts for big projects would be
repeated.

It was also unclear how much funding support the shire would get from the state and
federal governments, and what conditions were tied to that funding.

For Toodyay, another challenge will be balancing population growth with access to
water, as the region is experiencing a drying climate.

Last year, the ABC reported Toodyay residents who used to rely on rainwater now
had to get their water supplied by a local water carter.

Residents are standing their ground, on the land they were told was protected from
development, but the decision to proceed with the scheme amendment (or not) is a
decision that will be made by councillors at a future council meeting.