City of Swan moves to ban servos and services

The process to ban religious buildings and petrol stations being built in some parts of the Swan Valley’s wine region is under way.

City of Swan council voted tonight to initiate an amendment to its planning scheme stopping places of worship, roadhouses and taverns not using local produce from popping up.

The proposal, which covers nine suburbs within a special rural zone, will now be publicly advertised before being sent on to the Planning Minister for approval.

There are about five places of worship within the zone which is also home to about 20 wineries.

Mayor David Lucas said he had taken offence and been hurt by some of the public commentary in the past few weeks about the issue that the City and himself was against religion.

“It’s been pointed out very bluntly this is all about rural ambience and character,” he said.

“It is not about being anti-religion of anybody, and I take offence at that and it actually hurts when you can’t really explain what you want to explain.”

Cr Lucas said this weekend he was attending a Burmese New Year event and he had attended one of the City’s mosques following the recent Christchurch shooting.

Several speakers from Radha Soami Satsang Beas Australia, which has been trying to establish a place of worship within the valley for years, spoke against the amendment including Raj Makkad who said it seemed like an attempt to block a development application by them specifically.

The RSSB development was knocked back last year by council, despite staff from the local government recommending it be approved, and is currently awaiting a decision to its appeal in the State Administrative Tribunal.

Australian Christian Lobby director Peter Abetz said if club and community purpose buildings could be built through the council’s discretion under the proposal he did not see why the same treatment would not be given to places of worship.

“Because club premises or halls for community purposes (generally) can be rented out to a church to use,” he said.

Liberal Democrats MLC Aaron Stonehouse said this sort of ban had no place in “modern Australia”.

Jeff Williams, from the Swan Ratepayers and Residents Association, said the matter was all about money having places of worship set-up in the zone.

“These people can build here because it’s cheap and it’s about the money,” he said.

“The people who want these developments don’t even live in the area.”

Mr Williams said it was ratepayers who picked up the cost for road wear and tear from people travelling to places of worship in the valley.

Grape Growers Association representative Harry Grette said the valley should be kept rural in its nature.

“It (the valley) is shifting from viticulture, it is going down, what is going up is horticulture, my viticulture is gone now and I’m all horticulture,” he said.

“As a farmer it’s really difficult if you get a nearby development, which means lots of people, cars and whatever.

“I make some dust someone’s going to go me. I get on my tractor and spray … and someone’s going to say you can’t spray while we’re here … next thing I think is I can’t farm here. So do you want the farmers or not and that’s really the question.”