Innovative sustainability policy gets green light

An innovative new policy to make select residential developments more sustainable will come into effect in the City of Subiaco after Council passed it at last night’s meeting.

Local Planning Policy 1.3 – Sustainable Development will facilitate better environmental outcomes by requiring all applicable residential developments to include specific sustainability measures in the design. 

These could include solar or heat pump hot water systems, double or triple glazed windows, a rain water tank, waterwise landscaping, tree retention, or electric vehicle charger.

The policy provides a choice of 15 sustainability measures, with each allocated a number of points based on both the sustainability impact and difficulty to achieve. Applicants will need to reach a minimum number of points to satisfy the policy, depending on the type of development proposed.

It will apply to new single homes, grouped dwellings, and significant additions and/or alterations, and will mean reduced ongoing operational costs for the many homeowners.

Mayor David McMullen said, “This policy is a WA first.

“The City of Subiaco will be leading the way, with a new innovative approach to sustainable development.

“By planning, assessing and determining development applications in accordance with the new policy, we anticipate more sustainable design and better environmental outcomes for new developments across our City.

“We may well see other local governments follow this new policy approach.

“The beauty of the policy is that it gives applicants flexibility to choose which sustainability measures best suit their development aspirations, lifestyle and budget.”

The policy was adopted after a robust community consultation process.