Satterley concedes 1000-lot townsite hinges on EastLink completion
At Tuesday’s hearing, WAPC lawyers explained that Satterley had only offered to build 135 lots on the site until road improvements were completed.
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EastLink is a major unfunded road project planned to connect the Roe Highway to Northam with major improvements to Toodyay Road.
It formed as a crucial feature paving the way for the town of North Stoneville, but construction is likely to begin between 2036 and 2041, according to Main Roads’ testimony during the hearings.
Trial Judge Henry Jackson said the project must receive funding from both the state and federal governments and “a lot of ducks have to line up.”
McQueen’s franchise and EastLink’s timeframe mean Satterley’s long-held dream for North Stoneville won’t come true until the 2040s.
Community opposition revolves around the loss of native woodlands and the risk of fire to new and existing residents.
WAPC rejected the most recent North Stoneville plan in December 2023 due to wildfire risk.
McQueen argued that the land was being rezoned as urban while the bushfire planning policy was in effect and that fire risks would be taken into account in the process.
He said no building plans would be approved if external risks had to be reduced to zero.
“What you’re doing is reducing that risk,” he said.
He said the bushfire mitigation measures Satterley agreed to – such as clearing vegetation, building code measures, water tanks and other infrastructure – brought the risk in the area to an acceptable level.
McQueen also said the North Stoneville site had been subject to more than 30 years of planning, including being subject to Shire of Mundaring and state government planning frameworks, and WAPC had not given enough weight to the site’s history.
“They are all very important documents. What is happening during this review process is interestingly the opposite of what normally happens,” he said.
“The respondent is asking you to do what promoters normally do: ignore the planning framework.”
