Population 123,993 60,743 Number of Electors* 65,463 38,030 Number of Councillors 11 12 Number of Employees 642 273 Number of Dwellings 42,454 22,415 *At 30 June 2015 This proposal would see the Shire of Kalamunda and City of Gosnells continue as local government entities, with the Shire of Kalamunda population being reduced by about 571 (0.9%) and the City of Gosnells population increased by 0.5% to approximately 124,564. The affected area of Wattle Grove has an estimated 244 rateable properties. Table 2 Impact of boundary proposal area* Existing Shire of Shire of after adjustment Existing City of City of Gosnells after Area (sq.km) 3.75 324.36 320.6 127.29 131.0 (2014) 571 60,743 60,172 123,993 124,564 Electors (2015) 485 38,030 37,545 65,463 65,948 * Estimate based on ABS SA1 5113827 and 80% SA1 5113828 2. Local Government Advisory Board 2.1 The Proposal The Board is a statutory body established under section 2.44 of the Act. Its role is to provide advice to the Minister on amalgamations, district and ward boundary amendments and councillor representation. a a
Customer satisfaction and feedback. 4. Consultation 4.1 Meetings with Affected Local Governments Meeting with the City of Gosnells The Board met with councillors and staff of the City of Gosnells to answer questions about the inquiry process and to also give them the opportunity to raise any concerns or issues about the boundary amendment proposal. The CEO indicated that the City of Gosnells was generally ambivalent to the Wattle Grove elector’s proposal. Given that the City already had a population of around 125,000 the additional area is comparatively small and would have no particular impact. City representatives had liaised with the proponents but were not championing the proposal. The City indicated that the proposal made sense as Welshpool Road east is a major regional road (10,000 vehicles per day) and the current boundary, which it described as a saw tooth through bush blocks, is not ideal. The City has a particular interest in an adjacent area of Wattle Grove, south of Welshpool Road and west of Tonkin Highway, which is part of the Maddington Kenwick Strategic Employment Area (MKSEA). This area is likely to be developed as an industrial area. A Metropolitan Region Scheme (MRS) amendment is being progressed and the city is currently undertaking traffic and transport studies. Developer contributions would fund the cost of developing the roads. The subject area is 95% in the City of Gosnells and 5% in the Shire of Kalamunda; it would potentially be the only developer contributions area spanning two local governments. The cooperation of the Shire of Kalamunda would be required. The City believes it would make sense to incorporate this area into the City as an extension to the current proposal before the Board. This additional land is 73 hectares with 38 properties. The City believes most residents in the area are aware of the MKSEA developments and support it as their property values would be increased. The City would be keen to straighten the current boundary. For example, there is a situation at present with Valcan Road where City refuse trucks have to drive through the Shire of Kalamunda to service properties located in the City of Gosnells. The Mayor indicated that while the City’s foothills strategy had been held up by quarry related issues, the City was generally supportive of property east of Tonkin
5.2 Physical and Topographic Features Topographical features of particular significance in the local area include: the Darling Scarp Tonkin Highway Welshpool Road The area subject to the proposal is located in the foothills area of transition between the Swan coastal plain and the Darling Scarp. The proponent describes the affected area as ‘rural Foothills type community enclaves’ and referenced the commonality of zoning, infrastructure and block size shared with the neighbouring areas of Orange Grove and Martin, a commonality that is said to be not shared with the majority of adjoining Lesmurdie or Forrestfield. Tonkin Highway and Welshpool Road form the northern and western boundary of the area proposed to be transferred to Gosnells. Welshpool Road, for some 3.5 kilometres or so, would form part of new southern boundary of the Shire. This is a reasonable feature to use as a local government boundary. The proposal swaps Tonkin Highway for Welshpool Road as part of the boundary between the two local governments; in the words of one inquiry participant, ‘one major road is as good as another as a local government boundary’. A Bush Forever site (50), Welshpool Road Bushland, is located on the north side of Welshpool Road and is not within the affected area. As one respondent noted, there are no obvious topographical features which would indicate a greater connection of this portion of Wattle Grove with the City of Gosnells. The Shire of Kalamunda submitted that the rural areas of Wattle Grove share a commonality of zoning, services, infrastructure and lot sizes with a number of other rural areas within the Shire, such as Pickering Brook and Bickley. The semi-rural area of Wattle Grove provides a buffer between the urban areas of Wattle Grove and reserved land along the Darling Scarp. Figure 4 Satellite image, Wattle Grove locality Source: The Board notes that given that the current boundary slices through the semi-rural landscape without consistently relating to the road network or other topographical features, the elector’s proposal creates a marginally better boundary between the Shire of Kalamunda and the City of Gosnells. Importantly, the saw-tooth boundary would be removed. 5.3 Demographic Trends
Couples with children are the most numerous household type in Wattle Grove. There are relatively fewer lone person households (Table 9). Relatively large percentages of workers in the affected area are engaged as managers and professionals, and there are fewer trades workers and labourers, although the available data is not complete (Table 10). Dwelling types, as at the 2011 Census, are predominantly separate houses (Table 11). Table 8 Service age groups 2011 Service age group (years) Wattle Grove % Wattle Grove Shire of Kalamunda % City of Gosnells % Affected Area No. Affected Area % Orange Grove % Martin % Babies and pre-schoolers (0 to 4) 419 10.1 6.4 7.4 27 4.8% 5.5 4.4 Primary schoolers (5 to 11) 430 10.3 9 9.6 48 8.4% 3.8 5.9 Secondary schoolers (12 to 17) 318 7.6 9 8.5 60 10.6% 7.2 10.8 Tertiary education and independence (18 to 24) 423 10.2 9.2 10.4 67 11.7% 7.5 10.1 Young workforce (25 to 34) 802 19.3 11.7 15.7 27 4.8% 9.1 9.2 Parents and homebuilders (35 to 49) 965 23.2 21 21.4 110 19.3% 24.6 20.5 Older workers and (50 to 59) 432 10.4 13.3 11.7 108 18.9% 22.6 17.1 Empty nesters and retirees (60 to 69) 263 6.3 11.2 8.5 72 12.6% 12.9 12.1 Seniors (70 to 84) 99 2.4 7.9 5.7 45 7.8% 5.1 7.8 Elderly aged (85 and over) 12 0.3 1.4 1 6 1.1% 1.5 2.1
Total population 4163 100 100 100 571 100.0% 650 1140 Source: .id, ABS Table 9 Household type 2011 Tenure type Number: Wattle Grove % Wattle Grove Shire of Kalamunda % City of Gosnells% Affected Area No. Affected Area % Orange Grove % Martin % Couples with children 597 44.8 34.4 35.6 81 41.7% 43.9 43.2 Couples without children 367 27.5 29.7 24.1 53 27.1% 25.2 40.5 One parent families 99 7.5 10.3 11.8 12 6.0% 23.5 10.8 Other families 28 2.1 0.9 1.5 na 0 0.7 Group household 47 3.5 2.5 3.3 3 1.5% 22.4 8.1 Lone person 161 12.1 18.2 19.1 32 16.4% 1 2.1 Other not classifiable household 30 2.3 3.3 3.9 na 2 1.3 Visitor only households 3 0.3 0.8 0.6 na 5.4 4.2 Total households 1333 100 100 100 194 100.0% 100 100 Source: .id, ABS Table 10 Occupation or employment 2011 Occupation Number: Wattle Grove % Wattle Grove Shire of Kalamunda % City of Gosnells% Affected Area No. Affected Area % Orange Grove Martin Managers 272 11.8 11.6 8.8 99 32.2% 12.6 15
Table 18a Electors and elected members, current Area Resident Electors No. of elected members No. of resident electors per elected member Shire of Kalamunda 37,874 12 3,156 City of Gosnells 65,776 11 5,980 Metropolitan total 1,105,705 311 3,555 Table 18b Electors and elected members, proposed Area Resident Electors No. of elected members No. of resident electors per elected member Shire of Kalamunda 19,570 12 3,116 City of Gosnells 5,985 11 6,024 The Board notes that Victoria Road, Wattle Grove is 9.7 km from the Kalamunda Shire office, an 11 minute journey. It is similar distance (9.6 km) and time (12 minute) to the City of Gosnells council office. Victoria Road, Wattle Grove is also 8.9 km from the Kalamunda Shire works depot in Raymond Road, Walliston, an 11 minute journey. It is similar distance (7.9 km) and time (11 minute) to the City of Gosnells works depot in Maddington. 5.9 Other Matters Planning matters emerged as a major issue for this inquiry, with significant tension observed between the desire for preservation of rural lifestyles and the pressure for development. It came to be about the case for retaining tranquil rural lifestyles in the face of competing land use pressures. The State Government's Directions 2031 and Beyond, and Outer Metropolitan Perth and Peel Sub-Regional Strategy has identified Wattle Grove as having "potential for future consideration as a urban investigation area. This is due to its proximity to the urban front and employment around the airport". (LPS 2011, p89)