Vacant land along Guildford Road and East Parade in Mt Lawley will be developed to provide social and affordable housing as part of Round 1 of the Housing Diversity Pipeline.
The development will create new homes for people close to facilities such as the train line and bus services.
The site is currently in the final stages of procurement after being released to market through an Expressions of Interest (EOI) in early 2023 with a competitive closed tender process seeking a suitable development proposal and a proponent.
The Site
The 1.4ha site comprises 34 lots and is owned by the Western Australian Planning Commission (WAPC).
The Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage (DPLH) is currently preparing the site for new residential development, which includes extensive contamination remediation works and land assembly to create new development lots.
Once DPLH has completed this work and a development proponent has been appointed, the land will be available to commence development.
Site Remediation
The site is contaminated with asbestos containing material (ACM) understood to be the result of historically imported fill and demolition.
Prior to new residential development being permitted to occur, the site must be remediated to eliminate contamination and reclassified for residential land use, in-line with Department of Health (DoH) and Department of Water and Environmental Regulation (DWER) requirements.
What does site remediation involve?
Site remediation will involve extensive earthworks to excavate the impacted areas of soil and process the soil to remove the ACM which will be transported off site and disposed of at an appropriate waste facility. The clean treated soil will then be redistributed across the site.
When will it occur and how long will it take?
From Monday 18 November, enabling works will begin with the adjustment of the current site fencing, moving it to the edge of the laneway to establish a safe perimeter for residents, pedestrians and traffic.
These early works will then progress to soil excavation and removal of site material – currently estimated to commence in early December. As there is asbestos contamination underground and within the root systems of several tree stumps, workers will follow safe work protocols during this work.
Works are expected through to January 2025, with some disruption over the Christmas holiday period.
Is it safe?
There is currently no risk to public health or safety as the ACM is in the form of bonded fragments, is in a good condition and remains undisturbed. No friable asbestos or asbestos fibres have been detected in the soil.
DPLH has recently fenced the site to restrict public access and to limit any potential for soil disturbances to occur.
The remediation process will be closely managed by qualified environmental scientists who specialise in asbestos contamination remediation to ensure the process is carried out in the safest and most effective manner and in accordance with the relevant DWER and DoH guidelines.
Who will be impacted, and will I be notified?
There may be some impact to the immediately surrounding area during the works such as noise, dust and traffic because of the operation of machinery on site, and trucks transporting material to and from the site.
DPLH will be engaged with the City of Vincent to ensure appropriate site and traffic management measures are in place. All works will be closely monitored and managed to ensure a safe working environment and to minimise impacts on the surrounding area and the local road network.
Detailed information was sent to residents within the immediate vicinity of the site before remediation work commenced.
All efforts will be made to minimise any impact on people’s daily routine. Should there be any immediate impacts from works on site, such as restricted access or fallen fences, please contact Luke Walladge, of the RPS Group, on 0459 037 077 so that these issues can be resolved immediately.
Tree Retention
A key objective for development of this site is to ensure the retention of as many existing mature trees as possible while permitting a balanced and practical housing development outcome.
It will be possible to retain and ensure the protection of 25 of the 35 existing mature trees on site during the remediation works.
However, to successfully remove soil contamination and achieve a reclassification that permits the site to be developed for residential purposes it was necessary to remove 10 existing trees.
Contamination investigations found the root systems of trees across the site to be impacted by ACM contamination. To remediate the soil completely requires extensive excavation around the tree root systems and this work will be detrimental to the health and stability of the trees.
The 10 trees that were removed include two large Hill’s Weeping Fig trees located along Guildford Road and a number of other trees in various locations across the site.
Tree removal was required as an option of last resort and extensive planning has been completed to ensure remediation can accommodate the retention of the other remaining 25 trees on site.
The remediation approach ensures multiple clusters of medium and high value trees of endemic and native species are retained in prominent locations across the site. A professional arborist will oversee the remediation works to ensure the tree protection.
Future development of the site will be designed to protect the retained trees. New development will also need to provide new deep soil planting areas and landscaping in line with relevant planning requirements.
How will the site be developed?
The site will ultimately be developed to deliver new housing with a minimum of 20 per cent of the dwellings being allocated for social housing.
Once a development proponent is appointed, a detailed planning and design process will finalise the development proposal for the site. It is expected the site will be developed in line with the applicable local planning requirements.
More details of the development will be provided as the project progresses and the local community will be notified of any required consultation that may occur.
