Release of new plan for Hepburn Heights development

A new plan providing housing and protecting the environment at Hepburn Heights was unveiled today by Lands and Planning Minister David Smith.

Mr Smith said the new proposal saw an estimated 20 per cent of the subdivision being retained as natural bush in the form of public open space.

"The revised plan follows an amendment to the metropolitan region scheme which re-zoned the land from an educational institution to urban," the Minister said.

"It follows a Supreme Court decision last year that an earlier re-zoning was invalid on procedural grounds."

Mr Smith said since the court decision both the Australian Heritage Council and the National Trust had listed parts of Hepburn Heights and the adjacent Pinnaroo cemetery.

"The revised plan recognises the major thrust of the listings," he said.

"The plan provides for continuous open space and a green belt tract of land that will not be developed.

"This area extends from Hepburn Avenue to Whitfords Avenue, a distance of 2.6 kilometres.

"In the previous plan, open space areas were scattered through the proposed housing estate."

Mr Smith said the new scheme was developed by Landcorp in association with environmental consultants Alan Tingay & Associates.

Dr Tingay said it was pleasing to see the public open space area recommended by his firm for conservation of flora and vegetation had been adopted very closely.

"Our recommendation was based on retaining the greatest number of plant species and vegetation types in a reasonable and manageable area of open space," he said.

"We appreciate this area is far greater than the 10 per cent obligation normally required for public open space.

"We estimate that some 77 per cent of the total flora and vegetation species in the area will be preserved in the Hepburn Heights open space.

"Several species not represented are common in the adjacent Pinnaroo Valley Memorial park and, according to the management plan, will be retained in buffer areas," Dr Tingay said.

Mr Smith said the re-zoning would be gazetted tomorrow.

"The new area provides much needed affordable land for housing, catering for a wide cross-section of the community," the Minister said.

"It also conserves 9.5 hectares of natural vegetation in an existing suburb, as well as large tracts within Pinnaroo Memorial Park.

"On planning grounds, the new residential zoning is the most logical and best use of the site."

Mr Smith said the residential sub-division was a good example of the Government's policy of urban consolidation.

Other key components of the revised plan are: -

·         the creation of 435 residential blocks;

·         the creation of six development sites for aged persons' accommodation;

·         some 10 hectares of land set aside for local community groups; and

·         a community facility site of 3,500 m2 to be given to the Wanneroo City Council.