Published on Monday, 5 February 2024 at 2:24:35 PM
A proposed land exchange including Kingdon Park near Clarke Close was rejected by Council at the January Ordinary Council Meeting, in a win for community consultation.
The proposal was subject to a robust community consultation process, in which Planning officers and Councillors attended site meetings with local residents to talk through the proposal and gather feedback.
Community feedback captured during the consultation demonstrated there was a strong desire to retain the status quo in the area, for a range of reasons including concerns around recreation, amenity and more.
On the strength of the submissions returned, officers recommended to Council that the proposal should not proceed, with Council voting unanimously to support the officer recommendation.
The decision aligns with Council’s new Strategic Community Plan, which highlighted our community’s desire to feel better-listened to and identified improvement in engagement and decision making as a community priority for Council to focus on.
“Whilst the original planning rationale for considering this land-swap was sound, we consult with the community for a reason,” Shire President Kingsley Gibson said.
“In this case, it quickly became clear that the value of this reserve to the local residents was really significant.”
“Council’s response respects and preserves those community values. We will still ultimately achieve those good planning outcomes although it will take longer than was originally proposed. Overall, I think this is an excellent and entirely appropriate, community-centred solution.”
“I thank all those residents and community members with an interest in this matter for caring and for speaking up.”
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