Published on Tuesday, 24 March 2026 at 10:19:45 AM
At a Special Council Meeting on 23 March, the Victoria Park Council unanimously voted to recommend refusal of the State Government’s development application for Perth Park due to a lack of compliance with key planning considerations in the Metropolitan Region Scheme (MRS).
The development application relates to a significant section of the proposed motorsports racetrack planned to be constructed along Victoria Park Drive and Camfield Drive, both local roads controlled by the Town of Victoria Park.
A key concern was the absence of access to the community consultation outcomes, which are required to be considered as part of the development assessment process. Council was told that despite public consultation remaining open until 2 April, the Department of Planning Lands and Heritage had directed the Town to assess the development application by 25 March, depriving the Council of this critical feedback.
Mayor Karen Vernon said the lack of community input fundamentally undermines the integrity of the planning assessment process.
“Community consultation is not optional — it is a vital part of responsible and proper planning,” she said.
“Council has been placed in a position where it must make a recommendation without knowing what our residents and stakeholders think about a proposal of this scale.”
The other reasons for the recommended refusal were based on:
- a lack of supporting documentation demonstrating how the development was consistent with the purpose of reserved land under the MRS and relevant planning frameworks
- how it would impact the amenity of the locality and the surrounding environment, and
- the relationship of the proposal to the adjoining land where the remaining project works have already begun following approval via the Burswood Park Board.
“This development proposal is located near significant residential populations that are sensitive to noise, yet there is no acoustic noise modelling report,” Mayor Vernon said.
“The adjoining parkland and the Swan River foreshore are home to birds and native wildlife, yet there are no environmental reports to explain the likely impacts or how they would be managed.
“The absence of detailed designs for the entire racetrack curtailed due consideration of the proposed use of our local roads as part of this development.”
While recommending refusal, Council also outlined a range of conditions it would seek to be imposed should the WAPC ultimately approve the application. These include requirements for detailed technical reports, limits on motorsport events, tree canopy targets, and clear agreements regarding infrastructure costs and ongoing maintenance responsibilities.
Council also resolved to request the Town’s CEO write to the Minister for Planning expressing concerns that works forming part of the Perth Park project have already commenced.
“This creates a perception that the development approval and community consultation process is not a genuine process and is being undertaken with the outcome already determined,” Mayor Vernon said.
The WA Planning Commission will schedule a hearing to determine the development application after the close of community consultation.
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