Turning water into whine: Swan Valley push to ban places of worship from tourist hotspot

The Swan Valley faces a curb on religion, with a local government considering a church ban in the tourist hotspot in favour of wineries, taverns and restaurants using local produce.

Fed up with the slow progress of State Government planning reform for the region, the City of Swan has proposed a local law change that would block new “places of worship” and roadhouses being built in a special zoned rural area of the valley.

City of Swan mayor David Lucas said there were enough churches in the Swan Valley and he did not want the region to be eroded “piece by piece” by developments such as service stations and taverns that did not sell local produce.

“We don’t want any more places of worship in the Swan Valley,” Mr Lucas said.

“We believe they are sufficient. They can go into the hinterland outside the Swan Valley protection zone ... we want to preserve the valley for the valley.

“The Swan Valley is just getting chipped away and eroded for what it should be valued for and we want to draw a line in the sand and say enough is enough.”

The zone — which encompasses parts of Caversham, Middle Swan, Herne Hill, West Swan, Henley Brook, Millendon, Baskerville and Belhus — has two churches, a mosque, two Buddhist temples, a handful of distilleries and about 20 wineries.

There are five other places of worship just outside the zone.

The proposal has come as a surprise to several religious groups, including the Catholic Archdiocese of Perth which was unaware of the local government’s intention.

Buddhist Society of WA president Dennis Sheppard said the idea was a knee-jerk reaction.

“I certainly think its not very good policy to have a blanket ban on things like that,” he said.

“You should be able to look at something in its context and see how it is going to affect the surrounding population and environment.”

Planning Minister Rita Saffioti said a formal response to a review of the Swan Valley Planning Act would be prepared soon but she would let the local government process now under way take its course.

If the council amendment was passed, it would be presented to the minister to make the final decision, which would need to consider pending State changes.

Councillors will vote at a council meeting on Wednesday whether to pursue the amendment.