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Property developer Satterley would build a shelter for future residents of its controversial North Stoneville estate to evacuate to in the case of a bushfire bearing down.
The revelation came on the first day of the high-stakes State Administrative Tribunal fight by the Nigel Satterley-led company on behalf of its client, the Anglican Church, to overturn the WA Planning Commission’s rejection of its 2800-person Perth Hills estate.
Satterley Property Group, North Stoneville, Perth Hills development.Credit: Jamie Brown/WAtoday
The plan, revealed on Monday by counsel acting for the WA Planning Commission Ian Repper, included a refuge or shelter for future residents unable to evacuate.
Repper said it appeared with “some prominence” in Satterley’s latest effort to mitigate the bushfire risk in its plans, but tore shreds from the idea, labelling it a “half thought-through addition” contrary to planning and emergency services policy.
“Does it have the capacity to hold everyone? How will the traffic flow through it? What will this building be when there’s not a bushfire emergency? Who will pay for it?” Repper questioned.
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North Stoneville has been rejected by the local community since 1991, by the Shire of Mundaring council and the Department of Fire and Emergency Services, in more than 4000 public submissions, and twice by WA’s highest planning authority since 2020.
Community opposition revolves around the loss of native bushland and fire risk.
The WAPC rejected the most recent North Stoneville plan in December 2023 because of the bushfire risk.
Repper argued Satterley has not adequately addressed this risk, and took aim at the modelling of worst-case bushfire scenarios, which he said were informed by figures that didn’t reflect real worst-case scenarios.
Repper detailed several Perth Hills bushfires, including the 2014 Parkerville-Stoneville fire which destroyed 57 properties, and said fire conditions could get even worse than on those days.
“As bad as some of those fires were, some of these historical fires are, they are not the worst-case scenario for a bushfire in the Perth hills,” he said.
Repper also argued that Satterley’s modelling of bushfire evacuations were not comprehensive enough and that its ideas to mitigate risk, including the shelter idea, did not reduce the risk enough for the plan to be approved.
The tribunal is expected to make a final determination in late 2025 over the plans to develop the townsite, which includes three schools and a 193-hectare conservation area.
Repper also made a point of rejecting a claim by Satterley in its written submission to the tribunal that the proposal was rejected because of political pressure.
“The respondents’ position has been informed by the undisputed evidence how bushfire-prone the area is and how inherent the risks are,” he said.
Save Perth Hills, which was established in opposition to the Satterley plans, has the backing of local Liberal Kalamunda MP Adam Hort, who attended the opening of the hearing on Monday.
Lawyers for Satterley are expected to speak on Monday afternoon.
Satterley declined to comment when approached by this masthead.
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