❓ Question regarding the WAPC's authority to increase residential codes on the Raffles site, and concerns about the precedent this sets for other heritage sites. The Minister defends the decision, citing heritage benefits and legal compliance.
AnsweredQoN 534Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
To preserve heritage, the Heritage Act allows for the transfer of development rights and the variation of plot ratios from a heritage site to a non-heritage site. (1) What authority does the Western Australian Planning Commission have to increase residential codes on the Raffles site from R60 to approximately R150 when the heritage minister stated - . . . the heritage component formed only a small part of this Plot Ratio bonus (approximately 10%) . . . That is, six of the additional 90 dwellings? (2) Will the minister guarantee that the WAPC will not allow other heritage sites throughout Western Australia, such as Fremantle’s west-end heritage precinct, to be turned into a collection of Observation City-type towers as a result of the WAPC’s decision? The SPEAKER: Before I give the minister the call, I fear that the first part of the question seeks a legal opinion. The minister may well be able to answer the balance of the question, but I believe a legal opinion is asked for in the first part of the question. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN
AnswerView source ↗
(1)-(2) Mr Speaker, I will start off by saying that I would have thought anyone with an interest in heritage would celebrate this proposal. At long last that important art deco building has a chance of being returned to its former glory. Quite frankly, the proposal we have today is a vast improvement on the proposal that was approved by the previous Government. The WA Planning Commission and the City of Melville propose to support a development on the Raffles site. Their judgment is that the broader community will benefit from the sensitive restoration of that heritage site. In my view, its linking in with the Tivoli Theatre development and the way in which it could also achieve broader strategic objectives for city planning by allowing some medium to high-density development around certain nodes is admirable. The member has raised with the Minister for the Environment and Heritage and me a number of legal issues that she claims are at stake. I have written to the WAPC asking it to ensure that it takes legal advice before making any decisions, to ensure that what it is doing is clearly within power and that it does not breach any planning laws. The very clear advice from Mr Terry Martin, the Chairman of the WAPC and a man of considerable planning standing, is that the WAPC’s actions are completely within its powers. I put on record that I do not have an opinion on the precise configuration of a development of this type, but I believe a development of this type is very welcome, both for the way in which it will preserve heritage and for the choices and character it will give to the city.
(1) What authority does the Western Australian Planning Commission have to increase residential codes on the Raffles site from R60 to approximately R150 when the heritage minister stated - . . . the heritage component formed only a small part of this Plot Ratio bonus (approximately 10%) . . . That is, six of the additional 90 dwellings? (2) Will the minister guarantee that the WAPC will not allow other heritage sites throughout Western Australia, such as Fremantle’s west-end heritage precinct, to be turned into a collection of Observation City-type towers as a result of the WAPC’s decision? The SPEAKER: Before I give the minister the call, I fear that the first part of the question seeks a legal opinion. The minister may well be able to answer the balance of the question, but I believe a legal opinion is asked for in the first part of the question. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN replied: (1)-(2) Mr Speaker, I will start off by saying that I would have thought anyone with an interest in heritage would celebrate this proposal. At long last that important art deco building has a chance of being returned to its former glory. Quite frankly, the proposal we have today is a vast improvement on the proposal that was approved by the previous Government. The WA Planning Commission and the City of Melville propose to support a development on the Raffles site. Their judgment is that the broader community will benefit from the sensitive restoration of that heritage site. In my view, its linking in with the Tivoli Theatre development and the way in which it could also achieve broader strategic objectives for city planning by allowing some medium to high-density development around certain nodes is admirable. The member has raised with the Minister for the Environment and Heritage and me a number of legal issues that she claims are at stake. I have written to the WAPC asking it to ensure that it takes legal advice before making any decisions, to ensure that what it is doing is clearly within power and that it does not breach any planning laws. The very clear advice from Mr Terry Martin, the Chairman of the WAPC and a man of considerable planning standing, is that the WAPC’s actions are completely within its powers. I put on record that I do not have an opinion on the precise configuration of a development of this type, but I believe a development of this type is very welcome, both for the way in which it will preserve heritage and for the choices and character it will give to the city.
The SPEAKER: Before I give the minister the call, I fear that the first part of the question seeks a legal opinion. The minister may well be able to answer the balance of the question, but I believe a legal opinion is asked for in the first part of the question. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN replied: (1)-(2) Mr Speaker, I will start off by saying that I would have thought anyone with an interest in heritage would celebrate this proposal. At long last that important art deco building has a chance of being returned to its former glory. Quite frankly, the proposal we have today is a vast improvement on the proposal that was approved by the previous Government. The WA Planning Commission and the City of Melville propose to support a development on the Raffles site. Their judgment is that the broader community will benefit from the sensitive restoration of that heritage site. In my view, its linking in with the Tivoli Theatre development and the way in which it could also achieve broader strategic objectives for city planning by allowing some medium to high-density development around certain nodes is admirable. The member has raised with the Minister for the Environment and Heritage and me a number of legal issues that she claims are at stake. I have written to the WAPC asking it to ensure that it takes legal advice before making any decisions, to ensure that what it is doing is clearly within power and that it does not breach any planning laws. The very clear advice from Mr Terry Martin, the Chairman of the WAPC and a man of considerable planning standing, is that the WAPC’s actions are completely within its powers. I put on record that I do not have an opinion on the precise configuration of a development of this type, but I believe a development of this type is very welcome, both for the way in which it will preserve heritage and for the choices and character it will give to the city.
Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN replied: (1)-(2) Mr Speaker, I will start off by saying that I would have thought anyone with an interest in heritage would celebrate this proposal. At long last that important art deco building has a chance of being returned to its former glory. Quite frankly, the proposal we have today is a vast improvement on the proposal that was approved by the previous Government. The WA Planning Commission and the City of Melville propose to support a development on the Raffles site. Their judgment is that the broader community will benefit from the sensitive restoration of that heritage site. In my view, its linking in with the Tivoli Theatre development and the way in which it could also achieve broader strategic objectives for city planning by allowing some medium to high-density development around certain nodes is admirable. The member has raised with the Minister for the Environment and Heritage and me a number of legal issues that she claims are at stake. I have written to the WAPC asking it to ensure that it takes legal advice before making any decisions, to ensure that what it is doing is clearly within power and that it does not breach any planning laws. The very clear advice from Mr Terry Martin, the Chairman of the WAPC and a man of considerable planning standing, is that the WAPC’s actions are completely within its powers. I put on record that I do not have an opinion on the precise configuration of a development of this type, but I believe a development of this type is very welcome, both for the way in which it will preserve heritage and for the choices and character it will give to the city.
(1)-(2) Mr Speaker, I will start off by saying that I would have thought anyone with an interest in heritage would celebrate this proposal. At long last that important art deco building has a chance of being returned to its former glory. Quite frankly, the proposal we have today is a vast improvement on the proposal that was approved by the previous Government. The WA Planning Commission and the City of Melville propose to support a development on the Raffles site. Their judgment is that the broader community will benefit from the sensitive restoration of that heritage site. In my view, its linking in with the Tivoli Theatre development and the way in which it could also achieve broader strategic objectives for city planning by allowing some medium to high-density development around certain nodes is admirable. The member has raised with the Minister for the Environment and Heritage and me a number of legal issues that she claims are at stake. I have written to the WAPC asking it to ensure that it takes legal advice before making any decisions, to ensure that what it is doing is clearly within power and that it does not breach any planning laws. The very clear advice from Mr Terry Martin, the Chairman of the WAPC and a man of considerable planning standing, is that the WAPC’s actions are completely within its powers. I put on record that I do not have an opinion on the precise configuration of a development of this type, but I believe a development of this type is very welcome, both for the way in which it will preserve heritage and for the choices and character it will give to the city.
(1) What authority does the Western Australian Planning Commission have to increase residential codes on the Raffles site from R60 to approximately R150 when the heritage minister stated - . . . the heritage component formed only a small part of this Plot Ratio bonus (approximately 10%) . . . That is, six of the additional 90 dwellings? (2) Will the minister guarantee that the WAPC will not allow other heritage sites throughout Western Australia, such as Fremantle’s west-end heritage precinct, to be turned into a collection of Observation City-type towers as a result of the WAPC’s decision? The SPEAKER: Before I give the minister the call, I fear that the first part of the question seeks a legal opinion. The minister may well be able to answer the balance of the question, but I believe a legal opinion is asked for in the first part of the question. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN replied: (1)-(2) Mr Speaker, I will start off by saying that I would have thought anyone with an interest in heritage would celebrate this proposal. At long last that important art deco building has a chance of being returned to its former glory. Quite frankly, the proposal we have today is a vast improvement on the proposal that was approved by the previous Government. The WA Planning Commission and the City of Melville propose to support a development on the Raffles site. Their judgment is that the broader community will benefit from the sensitive restoration of that heritage site. In my view, its linking in with the Tivoli Theatre development and the way in which it could also achieve broader strategic objectives for city planning by allowing some medium to high-density development around certain nodes is admirable. The member has raised with the Minister for the Environment and Heritage and me a number of legal issues that she claims are at stake. I have written to the WAPC asking it to ensure that it takes legal advice before making any decisions, to ensure that what it is doing is clearly within power and that it does not breach any planning laws. The very clear advice from Mr Terry Martin, the Chairman of the WAPC and a man of considerable planning standing, is that the WAPC’s actions are completely within its powers. I put on record that I do not have an opinion on the precise configuration of a development of this type, but I believe a development of this type is very welcome, both for the way in which it will preserve heritage and for the choices and character it will give to the city.
The SPEAKER: Before I give the minister the call, I fear that the first part of the question seeks a legal opinion. The minister may well be able to answer the balance of the question, but I believe a legal opinion is asked for in the first part of the question. Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN replied: (1)-(2) Mr Speaker, I will start off by saying that I would have thought anyone with an interest in heritage would celebrate this proposal. At long last that important art deco building has a chance of being returned to its former glory. Quite frankly, the proposal we have today is a vast improvement on the proposal that was approved by the previous Government. The WA Planning Commission and the City of Melville propose to support a development on the Raffles site. Their judgment is that the broader community will benefit from the sensitive restoration of that heritage site. In my view, its linking in with the Tivoli Theatre development and the way in which it could also achieve broader strategic objectives for city planning by allowing some medium to high-density development around certain nodes is admirable. The member has raised with the Minister for the Environment and Heritage and me a number of legal issues that she claims are at stake. I have written to the WAPC asking it to ensure that it takes legal advice before making any decisions, to ensure that what it is doing is clearly within power and that it does not breach any planning laws. The very clear advice from Mr Terry Martin, the Chairman of the WAPC and a man of considerable planning standing, is that the WAPC’s actions are completely within its powers. I put on record that I do not have an opinion on the precise configuration of a development of this type, but I believe a development of this type is very welcome, both for the way in which it will preserve heritage and for the choices and character it will give to the city.
Ms A.J. MacTIERNAN replied: (1)-(2) Mr Speaker, I will start off by saying that I would have thought anyone with an interest in heritage would celebrate this proposal. At long last that important art deco building has a chance of being returned to its former glory. Quite frankly, the proposal we have today is a vast improvement on the proposal that was approved by the previous Government. The WA Planning Commission and the City of Melville propose to support a development on the Raffles site. Their judgment is that the broader community will benefit from the sensitive restoration of that heritage site. In my view, its linking in with the Tivoli Theatre development and the way in which it could also achieve broader strategic objectives for city planning by allowing some medium to high-density development around certain nodes is admirable. The member has raised with the Minister for the Environment and Heritage and me a number of legal issues that she claims are at stake. I have written to the WAPC asking it to ensure that it takes legal advice before making any decisions, to ensure that what it is doing is clearly within power and that it does not breach any planning laws. The very clear advice from Mr Terry Martin, the Chairman of the WAPC and a man of considerable planning standing, is that the WAPC’s actions are completely within its powers. I put on record that I do not have an opinion on the precise configuration of a development of this type, but I believe a development of this type is very welcome, both for the way in which it will preserve heritage and for the choices and character it will give to the city.
(1)-(2) Mr Speaker, I will start off by saying that I would have thought anyone with an interest in heritage would celebrate this proposal. At long last that important art deco building has a chance of being returned to its former glory. Quite frankly, the proposal we have today is a vast improvement on the proposal that was approved by the previous Government. The WA Planning Commission and the City of Melville propose to support a development on the Raffles site. Their judgment is that the broader community will benefit from the sensitive restoration of that heritage site. In my view, its linking in with the Tivoli Theatre development and the way in which it could also achieve broader strategic objectives for city planning by allowing some medium to high-density development around certain nodes is admirable. The member has raised with the Minister for the Environment and Heritage and me a number of legal issues that she claims are at stake. I have written to the WAPC asking it to ensure that it takes legal advice before making any decisions, to ensure that what it is doing is clearly within power and that it does not breach any planning laws. The very clear advice from Mr Terry Martin, the Chairman of the WAPC and a man of considerable planning standing, is that the WAPC’s actions are completely within its powers. I put on record that I do not have an opinion on the precise configuration of a development of this type, but I believe a development of this type is very welcome, both for the way in which it will preserve heritage and for the choices and character it will give to the city.
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