Former planner Charles Johnson says reformed WA development assessment panels need to hit the road

Civic leaders have argued planning reforms are seriously diluting the community’s voice when it comes to major projects affecting the region.

Although a recent Regional Development Assessment Panel hearing backed the concerns of residents about a contentious lime pit proposal near Hamelin Bay, the meeting highlighted serious issues of concern.

Charles Johnson AM, who led delegations from residents against the proposal, said he was concerned three members of the Perth-based committee were asked to make informed decisions despite never walking the ground where projects were touted.

The Margaret River Rotary president has planning credentials of his own, with 40 years in the industry including stints as the executive director of what is now the Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage, chief executive of the City of Wanneroo, and in a WA Local Government Association role as a trainer of elected members.

The Life Fellow of the Planning Institute of Australia and adjunct professor of town planning at the University of WA told the Times the RDAP reforms had short-changed people outside of Perth, and city delegates needed to walk the sites under consideration.

“As a former presiding member of a Joint DAP, this local knowledge is gained mostly from visiting sites and directly assessing the impacts of development on a locality,” he said.

“It seems to me that this is not a problem with JDAPs in Perth where a site visit is easily done, but it certainly is in the regions where considerable travel distances are involved.”

Mr Johnson said the centralisation of decision-makers in Perth came at a loss to regional communities.

He urged whoever formed government after March 8 to bring in reforms “so that in our regions, important planning decisions are made in the local communities most impacted”.

Shire of Augusta-Margaret River president Julia Meldrum late last year criticised State Government reforms she said had “disempowered and silenced” councils.

Echoing some of Mr Johnson’s comments, Ms Meldrum said the people living in areas affected by proposals were best placed to decide the outcome.

“Planning decisions which impact where we live shouldn’t be made by those who have no understanding or interest in our community, yet the new DAP process does exactly that,” she said.

“The recent DAP reforms allow development applications — ranging from fairly minor to significant — to bypass our councils, disregarding our local planning frameworks, and ignoring our local knowledge.

“The reforms undermine our community and will undoubtedly lead to decisions that don’t reflect what our residents actually want or need, because they take away our voice in shaping the place we call home.”