Satterley’s North Stoneville Manor SAT appeal postponed

Australia’s largest private land developer and the Anglican Church of WA have again delayed plans to build a massive estate in the Perth Hills, while the community opposing them is preparing for the fight of a lifetime.

Satterley Property Group had lodged legal documents with the State Administrative Tribunal this week to appeal the WA Planning Commission’s decision in December 2023 to reject its North Stoneville property project.

Satterley’s 1,000-lot plan creates an unacceptable bushfire risk Peak planning agency determined.

This is the second time the plan has been rejected.

Last week, Satterlee’s lawyers requested a last-minute delay to this week’s filing, prompting the State Administrative Tribunal to quickly convene a directions hearing last Friday and give Satterlee an Oct. 4 deadline.

Satterley has been trying to establish the estate on 535 hectares of land owned by the diocese since the church recruited him in 2016 to develop a town for 2,800 people, three schools and a 193-hectare reserve.

The delay came because Satterley’s lawyers argued that the planning appeal should wait for approval from the federal Environmental Protection Agency.

Federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek must decide on an application to clear endangered black cockatoo colony at the site and buy land elsewhere for conservation to offset the habitat loss.

The entire plan would likely die if Plibersek denied the application under federal environmental laws that protect black-cockatoos, the lawyers said.