Backyard subdivisions face the chop
25th March 2008, 6:00 WST
New WA Planning Commission rules are set to stymie attempts by householders to subdivide their blocks, flying in the face of State Government calls for more infill development in established suburbs.
Real estate agents are already exploiting the impending change to R20 zoned blocks — due in April next year — by running leaflet campaigns in suburbs with blocks of less than 1000sqm warning residents to subdivide now or miss out.
An R20 zoning means 20 dwellings are allowed on a hectare of land, so blocks cannot be smaller than 500sqm and those who own blocks of more than 1000sqm can technically subdivide a portion of their land. Planning regulations have long offered a concession allowing owners to subdivide properties as small as 900sqm and create strata titles. Under amendments within Planning Bulletin 89, to be gazetted next month, that concession will be removed for R20, forcing residents to push for a rezoning to a higher density if they want to subdivide or create strata lots.
Melville resident and former Melville city councillor Paul Redman learnt about the changes to the R20 rules from a flyer from a local real estate agent. He said he and his wife had not been planning to subdivide their Melville block for several years but were now considering rushing their plans to meet the deadline.
“I’ve been to valuers to see what it would be worth to sell as a house with subdivision potential, because that option won’t be there in a year’s time,” he said.
“At a time when they’re saying we’ve got to get more houses in the inner metro area they’re doing the exact opposite.”
Planning and Infrastructure Minister Alannah MacTiernan wants to double the number of inner-city and riverside homes in Perth. Her Network City planning scheme is expected to deliver an extra 500,000 homes in the Perth and Peel regions in the next 30 to 40 years.
Most of the infill would be provided through high-density developments around transport nodes and activity hubs, rather than traditional infill subdivision.
She said if councils wanted to allow traditional backyard subdivisions they could rezone areas to R25 or higher to allow for it.
“I don’t see this as inconsistent with Network City because what we’re looking at doing is having areas around nodes where we can have real density. A lot of land is being upzoned, councils are reviewing their town planning schemes all the time and R20 becomes R30 or R40 and I sign these every second week,” she said.
DANIEL HATCH