YOUR VIEWS
Simon Porter - 25 Jan, 2008
Subject: RE: Dalkeith Redevelopment
I have copied this email to the other councilors because I believe that it demonstrates some points that are critical to the matter at hand.
Thank you for your prompt reply and consideration of my views. I will say firstly that nothing in this email is directed at you personally so if it reads that way then it is not my intention.
It may well be "a concept of a concept" but this is the very root of the problem The concept is fundamentally flawed and needs to be completely rethought. There is no saving the current concept by tinkering. It needs to go altogether.
Your point about "where would all the traffic go?" is my point exactly. This amount of traffic in Waratah would have nowhere to go. If you accept that Stirling Hwy cannot handle the traffic that a development of this type and size would generate then it stands to reason that Waratah and Dalkeith in general would have no chance of even nearly accommodating the traffic. People who live in feeder streets in between Stirling Hwy and Dalkeith (like you) can forget about their quiet streets because all streets will be taking traffic to and from the peninsula. So the idea of "don't put in on or around Stirling Hwy because this will create traffic chaos, put it in the heart of Dalkeith" - this is the most absurd notion.
The idea that "by letting density into a discrete area the rest could be saved" if I am interpreting this correctly is so deeply offensive to me that I can hardly breathe while typing this email. This is to say that we will stuff Dalkeith full of development and those rich bastards can just put up with it and that will allow us to spare everyone else. Are there actually people that have suggested this is an appropriate way of thinking about this issue? If so I want to know who they are. Has this been documented anywhere? If so I would like to have a copy. Do you personally agree with this? It is not proper to plan based on using "discrete" areas for increased density to "save" other areas. Increased density must go where it is most appropriate and prudent to go.
I do not think it is a matter of people saying "put it all on Stirling Hwy". I think it is more that people are addressing how inappropriate it is to put "it" on Waratah and using Stirling Hwy as the easy example of an alternative There is actually nowhere in The City of Nedlands (except Karrakatta Cemetary) that is less appropriate for this development than Dalkeith. A simple review of a map of the Western Suburbs makes it plainly obvious that there is no physical room in Dalkeith for this scale of development. There is certainly room for some residential densification but not for the retail and commercial space and not for residential of the type and scale proposed - it justs doesn't fit. And by fit I mean both physically and in terms of appropriateness. The plan seems to promote Waratah as an alternative to the "New Claremont" almost like the planners think that we should "take them on". Again this is incorrect thinking for the reasons in my letter. If Waratah is developed as it should be - for the needs of local residents as a neighborhood convenience precinct - then it will work a lot better and will not spoil the quite special and unique nature of Dalkeith I think that there is a tendancy to try to bring Dalkeith down a peg or two in some sections of government and the community which is unfortunate. We saw the blatant attempt at money grabbing when Eric Ripper tried to bring in the premium property tax for properties $1m+ - what a disaster that would have been for people in so many parts of Perth that now have property $1m+. Now it seems that they want to just take the land. Perth needs a suburb like Dalkeith. All major cities have "their Dalkeith". In Melbourne they have areas like Kew and Toorak. In Sydney they have the North Shore and Eastern Suburbs. The project is about housing diversity and Dalkeith provides residential options for a group of people that do exist - they are not fictional characters.
A comparison of Stirling Hwy and houses nearby with Waratah is not valid in my view. People who bought near Stirling Hwy knew that Stirling Hwy was there. Imagine if they bought near a quiet street and then the planners came along and said lets whack Stirling Hwy straight through this quiet neighborhood It doesn't quite fit but we will just stuff it in. The reason Stirling Hwy comes up is that it is an example of space in Nedlands where it is more appropriate to place a development of this kind and size than the current plan presents. Stirling Hwy is already a busy and quite built up area. Adding extra development would not have anywhere near the impact on nearby residents that would be felt by development ANYWHERE NEAR THE SCALE OF WHAT HAS BEEN PROPOSED in Waratah. I am of the belief that this development belongs nowhere in Nedlands. We do not need it and there are sufficient nearby alternatives. We are only 10 minutes from the City and 2 minutes from the "New Claremont" for heavens sake! This may in fact be the best reason in favour of residential densification but it is an undeniable reason why the commercial and retail component of this plan is ridiculous. In terms of residential densification, we need to be considerate of how multi storey multi dwelling development "fits" where is will ultimately go. It does not "fit" in Waratah on anywhere near the proposed scale surrounded by established R10 and R12.5 residential lots with no buffering in between. Does it "fit" on Stirling Hwy or Broadway or Hampden Rd? No probably not but it is a better "fit" than Dalkeith. We need to band together and fight the state government if they are forcing this upon us.
Regards
Simon Porter