Landowners, residents and businesses in Pickering Brook and surrounding areas are invited to have their say on tourism-related growth within the Perth Hills.
Feedback will help inform the State Government's Pickering Brook and Surrounds Sustainability and Tourism Strategy which aims to develop land use plans between Paulls Valley and Roleystone.
The strategy will balance the aspirations of local government, landowners and community stakeholders, with State agency requirements, infrastructure capacity, bushfire risks, the environment and the needs of agricultural production.
Creating planning certainty in the area is paramount to ensure a balance between retaining priority agricultural land and allowing new businesses to flourish.
In June 2018, the State Government announced a dedicated Taskforce to lead the project. The Taskforce and its Working Group are investigating a wide range of matters including planning and economic development-related opportunities, the identification and protection of priority agricultural land, and options to revitalise the Pickering Brook townsite and surrounding area.
Members of the Working Group are available to meet with key stakeholders and the local community by appointment in early September. For more information on the strategy or to take the online survey, please visit http://www.dplh.wa.gov.au/pickeringbrook
As stated by Planning Minister Rita Saffioti:
"Pickering Brook is a unique place with a strong sense of community. In planning for its future, I want to make sure that we consider the issues and aspirations of the local community.
"Many families have lived in the area for generations and we want build upon what they have already created by preserving the area's cultural value and driving new opportunities.
"I encourage those with an interest in the future of Pickering Brook and surrounds to have their say in the creation of this important plan for the future of their community."
As stated by Kalamunda MLA Matthew Hughes:
"The people of Pickering Brook and the surrounding communities across the wider study area have waited decades for a response from Government for the opportunity to engage in planning for the future.
"I am very pleased to have been instrumental in advocating for the establishment of the Taskforce by the WA Labor State Government and to have been given the opportunity to chair the Working Group that will report to it.
"It is an essential prerequisite to any future planning that a balance between the retention priority agricultural land, the change in the economics of the orchard industry and the development of new businesses is maintained.
"The Working Group is cognisant of previous studies undertaken by local government in pursuit of maintaining the viability of agricultural and horticulture across the study area."
