New council’s first major test reveals a seismic shift

The new council appears to be a different beast to its predecessor, if Twin Waters West is anything to go by.

Stop Twin Waters West protesters.

This is a different beast, this new council.

Thursday's debate and decision about Twin Waters West was the first major test for the council after the March election and what has been a whirlwind four months since, as the region navigates the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.

The need for economic recovery will be something our councillors are all too aware of.

But at what cost?

Stockland reacts to Twin Waters West knock back

Council officers recommended approval with conditions of the Stockland proposal, and the associated request to alter the planning scheme, but the recommendation was thrown out by councillors, who voted 8-2 to reject the proposal.

Mayor Mark Jamieson was out of the room due to a perceived conflict of interest.

For the best part of a decade the proposal has been mulled over.

Community feedback has not been hard to come by.

Champagne flows after long-fought battle

Save Twin Waters West and Surrounds and its team of experts rallied hard against the proposal, considering it far too constrained a site for the scale of the development proposed.

Others, namely Twin Waters Residents' Association, felt the proposal was able to be supported provided it met the conditions precedent.

Previous iterations of the Jamieson council progressed a planning scheme amendment for the 104ha site, bringing it into the Urban Growth Management Boundary, as an emerging community zone, after a previous refusal and Planning and Environment Court appeal process.

The flooding concerns are valid, the council officer's report verifies that, with reference to safe refuge zones and the increased population impact on evacuation times for existing residents.

Councillors explain Twin Waters West votes

But one can't help but feel the previous council would've accepted the recommendations and an approval would have been given.

Opponents to this proposal were buoyed when the decision was pushed back post-March, and further energised when the make-up of the current council was finalised.

Several new councillors pledged to be more in-tune with the community, and fight for what people wanted, including sensible development in the right places.

The make-up of the new council seems to have energised some longer-serving councillors too, and the result, at least this week, was a decision taking into account more than just an economic benefit, with sustainability the key.

It was leadership and representation many in the region have been demanding for some time now.

The next test will be to see whether that level of representation and decision-making can be maintained.

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