Mayor Fiona Argyle of Nedlands has failed to intervene as a third party in a legal battle over a proposed house next to hers.
Nedlands City Council went against the government’s advice, voting twice in March to reject an application for the house on a subdivided lot on Kinninmont Avenue in Nedlands.
The prospective homeowners, Annabelle and Stephen Purser, appealed the city’s decision to the Administrative Court.
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Ms. Argyle lived next door to the Pursers’ Block and did not vote on the point but requested that the SAT intervene as a third party, giving her the power to call witnesses.
During a hearing to hear her request to intervene on June 1, her attorney Paul McQueen filed an affidavit from Ms. Argyle the day before, stating that she intended to split her plot to provide a home for her mother. Build.
Mr. McQueen said Ms. Argyle wanted to call expert architectural and urban planning advice to explain how the proposed neighboring home would affect her existing home and the future amenities of her mother’s house.
Planning expert Joe Algeri appeared on behalf of the Pursers and said that if the SAT approved Ms. Argyle’s intervention, it would open a “Pandora’s box”.
“This, in our view, can only lead to expanding the problems in the most complicated way,” he said.
“It would set a precedent for an aggrieved neighbor to get involved.”
Camera iconNedland’s mayor Fiona Argyle. Credit: Andrew Ritchie/Perth Now
Mr. Algeri said Ms. Argyle’s new objections to her proposed subdivision “bear no resemblance” to the issues she first raised in September 2021.
“We don’t understand how someone who expressed so much concern about the development on a narrow lot is now proposing to do the same,” he said.
Mr. Algeri described Ms. Argyle’s application for intervention as “hollow”.
“Someone more cynical might say it’s nothing more than a tactic to complicate the process and make it more difficult and expensive for the applicant,” he said.
City attorney Craig Slarke told the SAT the city was “neutral” on Ms. Argyle’s request to intervene but said they would allow her to testify through them.
Camera Icon, A proposed residence on Kinninmont Avenue next to the mayor of Nedlands has proved controversial. Credit: Included
SAT Chair Stephen Willey turned down Ms. Argyle’s request to intervene and allowed her to submit a statement regarding her concerns seven days before the two-day hearing, which begins June 30.
Willey said he would publish his reasons “in due course.”
PerthNow previously revealed that, despite her refusal during the city council vote, Ms. Argyle texted a councilor who voted in favor of the application.
The Mayor’s first text to Cr Olinka Combes read: “I can’t believe you spoke to my family on this point. Terrible” and the second, “Fancy suggesting to use our green hedge. Angus, my husband, is in disgraced and heard it all online from Singapore”.
