Electors motions passed by Friends of Yakamia Forest to protect Lot 4743 received by City of Albany council

An environmental group hoping to protect a plot of bushland in Yakamia have received a token gesture of support from the Albany council, which voted to receive its pair of motions passed at this month’s electors meeting.

The community-driven motions were moved by Friends of Yakamia Boodja member Jon Doust and seconded by Mandy Arnold at the City of Albany’s annual electors meeting on February 5.

The two motions asked the council to designate Lot 4743 as heritage bushland to protect the area from future development, and allocate funding in the next budget to purchase the adjoining freehold land and install barriers to protect the bushland from vehicles.

The council voted unanimously to receive the two motions regarding the area colloquially known as Yakamia Forest — a move that does not require any immediate actioning of the requests.

Cr Lynn MacLaren, who declared an impartiality notice for the item, put forward an alternative motion that requested staff to prepare a report detailing the implications and legal obligations of designating the land as a heritage plot and installing barriers, which did not make it to the floor.

Noting a 2000-signature strong petition, Cr MacLaren said there was “significant” support within the community to ensure the protection of the biodiverse lot.

“Albany electors spoke last year by raising many questions, and this year by passing this motion in their annual electors meeting — their voices should be heard,” she said.

“We councillors need to know whether it is possible to designate some or all of Yakamia Forest as heritage bushland, or . . . perhaps it should be conservation reserve.

“We simply do not have enough information about the legal requirements and statutory obligations of the city to protect the forest while fulfilling our duty to deliver orderly planning for Albany.”

Yakamia Forest has been a contentious issue in the city for a number of years since Range Road — a planned thoroughfare set to link the northern suburbs to the inner city — was earmarked to bisect the lot.

Several councillors noted that to make any moves regarding the future protection of the land would be pre-emptive, given the document governing the road’s exact route had not yet been released.

“Until a very, very comprehensive document, and a very expensive document, the North Albany District Structure Plan is finalised, we won’t know what we’re dealing with,” Cr Robert Sutton said.

“I don’t think there’ll be any councillor here that would just want to put road through and wreck the environment totally.

“But we’ve got to work with the structure plan being done and I think going through this, we jump in areas where we don’t need to jump yet.

“If we hold off, it’s not going to be long — it’s been a long time now, so let’s wait a little bit longer and get the best result for the community.”

The North Albany district structure plan is expected to be released this year.