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Unfortunately, there has been an increase in vandalism and break-ins at the former Glen Iris clubhouse over the past few weeks and this has caused significant damage to glass doors and windows, the roof and interiors.

While the Glen Iris Estate site remains fenced and we have monitored alarms, CCTV and regular mobile security patrols in place, it has not deterred antisocial behaviour from a small minority of people in the community.

We share residents’ desire for Glen Iris to remain a safe and welcoming neighbourhood. All incidents are reported to the Police along with available CCTV footage.

In addition to our security efforts, if you see any suspicious activity around the project site please contact City of Cockburn’s CoSafe service – which operates 24 hours a day, 7 days - a week, on 1300 26 72 33, or for more serious incidents please contact the WA Police on 131 444.

Over the coming weeks you might notice some activity at the Glen Iris Estate site.

Contractors will be working to tidy up grass and weeds that have grown during the winter months.

Work has already started on verges along Dean Road and around the former club house, and the mowing of the areas adjacent to fences of adjoining homes are set to begin shortly.

All mowing works are expected to be completed by the end of August.

We will then schedule in another round of mowing across all areas in late October to prepare the site ahead of the annual fire season.

We enlisted the help of the transport and traffic experts at Stantec (formerly GTA Consultants) to help us collect the facts and figures that underpin the Glen Iris Estate traffic management plan.

But their specialist insights weren’t limited to just counting cars or confirming peak traffic times.

They also looked for solutions to guarantee long-term design and function for Berrigan Drive and local roads, and ensure safety and ease of access for both new and existing Glen Iris residents.

Aspects such as road hierarchy and functionality were considered so that traffic could be directed to logical points in and out of the new estate.

The whole process involved a high level of detailed traffic modelling and analysis, carefully considering needs from all sides.

As a result, 95% of the new traffic generated by the Glen Iris Estate development will be contained on new roads. That means minimal additional traffic onto existing residential streets.

Key initiatives include:

New four-way traffic lights on Berrigan Drive

Enabling safer right turn exits and entries in and out of Glen Iris, the new traffic lights have been endorsed by Main Roads WA and are now progressing through the next stages of design and approvals.

Introducing a new controlled access point, the new intersection will significantly improve safety and reduce congestion for existing residents as they access Berrigan Drive, and surrounding arterial roads, including the Kwinana Freeway and Jandakot Road.

New connector road

The capacity modelling indicates the expected daily traffic flows for this main access road into the new estate will be well within the thresholds outlined for neighbourhood connector roads.

Turnbury Park Drive

Closure of the Turnbury Park Drive intersection on Berrigan Drive will provide the necessary separation distance for the new Berrigan Drive traffic signals, and in turn remove a known location of many car accidents and local traffic congestion in peak periods. This will improve safety and ease current congestion issues.

The Turnbury Park Drive / Lakes Boulevard intersection

Closure of the priority-controlled right-turn movements at the Turnbury Park Drive and The Lakes Boulevard intersection to help address current road safety issues.

Lakes Boulevard intersection

The Lakes Boulevard intersection on Berrigan Drive will be modified to become a left in, left out turning arrangement. Improved access to the new traffic lights on Berrigan Drive will provide much safer and convenient opportunities in and out of the area for residents on Lakes Boulevard and The Fairway.

Importantly, Lakes Boulevard will remain closed at the southern end near Imlah Court.

Carparking, pathways and cycleways

Carparking will typically be included in the verges of roads adjacent to shared spaces such as parks and shops, while group housing developments will need to provide resident and visitor parking ratios as prescribed by the City of Cockburn.

For those leaving the car at home, walking, jogging and cycling will be encouraged with a network of well-lit cycleways and pathways throughout the new Glen Iris Estate.

A local centre is about much more than simply the convenience of having a grocery store and a café on the doorstep.

Bringing a long list of benefits to a neighbourhood, local centres are often a design priority for today’s urban planners when they’re setting out the vision for a new residential estate.

A new energy With modern new infrastructure and fresh new faces, local centres can bring renewed vibrancy to an area, creating a central hub for both new and existing residents to enjoy.

More options Local centres bring more choice in terms of dining, socialising and shopping, from the convenience of day-to-day grocery purchases and a cappuccino on the go, to services such as doctors and medical specialists.

Building community Local centres nurture social connections, providing a natural meeting place for families and friends, whether it’s a quick coffee catch-up, a special-occasion dinner or a chat at the checkout while picking up some fresh-baked bread. Creating a sense of neighbourhood and identity is important in new residential developments, encouraging a strong, sustainable and resilient community.

Accessibility Welcoming and people-friendly, new local centres are positioned within a new estate so that they can easily be reached on foot, by bike or by car, providing local residents with essential access to day-to-day goods and services, close to where they live.

Contribution Local centres contribute to the local economy, creating jobs and providing a range of opportunities for new business ventures to meet local needs.

It’s clear that residents of Glen Iris love where they live, but we’ve also had feedback that many would like to have more places on the doorstep for dining and socialising, along with some small-scale retail outlets.

The proposed new Glen Iris Centre will offer the potential for a café, restaurant, shops and a supermarket on Berrigan Drive.

A key component of our overall vision for this new residential development, the local centre has been planned as a community hub where shopping for local produce, eating, drinking and catching up with friends will become part of life at the new Glen Iris Estate.

Connected to a network of new walking paths and cycle trails, the Glen Iris Estate local centre represents an exciting opportunity to develop a new community heart for the local area.

Behind every attractive new residential development you’ll find a series of dos and don’ts guiding the design of all new homes being built in the estate.

Guidelines vary from one development to the next, but they’re what give each new neighbourhood its own distinctive character.

Equally importantly, by outlining the standards expected, the developer can also guide the quality of all new homes being built there.

The main benefits of design guidelines can be summarised as follows:

• Helping to maximise the value of the homeowner’s investment
• Complementing the natural surroundings
• Enhancing the quality of the community as a whole

What do design guidelines cover?

Design guidelines can include details on materials, colours and standards to ensure all new homes achieve a high level of presentation. There are usually rebates and incentives in place by the developer to encourage compliance.

They often address aspects such as exterior colour schemes, building materials, front elevations, and the choice of design features to ensure a pleasing and varied streetscape. Equally, it’s the things that the design guidelines prohibit that also make a lasting impression on a neighbourhood, like including discreet areas for bin storage in each home.

They can also provide requirements in terms of how houses relate to the street, and encourage key sustainability initiatives, such as water conservation and energy efficiency.

At Glen Iris Estate, new homes will be required to achieve a minimum 7-star NatHERS energy efficiency rating, for example.

How are design guidelines applied?

Developer design guidelines become part of the contractual requirements that buyers sign off on when they buy their chosen homesite.

Key elements of the design guidelines are included in a restrictive covenant registered on the certificate of title for each lot. These are normally valid for 10 to 20 years.

Developers consider design guidelines carefully, ensuring they fit with their overall vision for the estate. It’s this vision – embracing housing quality, local character, amenities and location – that has usually attracted homebuyers to the estate in the first place.

High-quality, designer homes underpin the vision for the new Glen Iris Estate.

Built by like-minded homebuyers looking for both location and lifestyle, it is envisioned these contemporary new properties will reinforce Glen Iris as a premium local address.

A mix of block sizes has been included in the estate plan, not only showcasing the space and street appeal today’s buyers look for, but also ensuring the new Glen Iris Estate attracts a vibrant mix of residents.

The design concept features large lots perfect for young families who want space to stretch out, along with more compact lots to suit modern ‘downsizers’ and ‘right-sizers’ and those looking for a lock-and-leave option.

When it comes to designing an energy-efficient home, it’s a case of the more stars the better.

But how does a new home earn its stars and who awards them?

And how many stars will new homes at Glen Iris Estate be required to have?

First, let’s take a look at NatHERS, the Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme, which was introduced in 1993 and is administered by the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water.

NatHERS Assessors currently use the house plans and building specification of a new home to input data into an accredited software tool, generating a NatHERS star rating out of 10.

This star rating is a measure of the proposed home’s thermal performance, based on its structure, orientation, design and materials. The higher the star rating, the less energy needed to heat and cool the home to keep it comfortable.

Buildings with good insulation and solar passive design, for example, can reduce reliance on artificial heating and cooling. Heating and cooling is responsible for the majority of the average Australian household’s energy use and greenhouse gas emissions.

Going above and beyond

Because we believe energy efficiency is a big part of a sustainable housing future, under Design Guidelines to be implemented by the developers, new homes at Glen Iris Estate will be required to have a minimum 7-star NatHERS rating. That’s higher than the minimum 6-star rating required in most parts of Australia for detached homes.

Chances are, if you're building a new home, you’ll already want to make great design choices to improve energy efficiency and meet building code requirements.

Like NatHERS, we believe in the benefits of good design and increasing the thermal performance of homes, as this can often be achieved with no or little additional construction cost.

With a 7-star home design, homeowners not only look forward to achieving lower energy bills, but also enjoying a home that is more comfortable and resilient to climate change.

A minimum 7-star NatHERS Energy Efficiency rating is just one of the specific sustainability initiatives included in the plan for the new Glen Iris Estate.

The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) will be on-site at Glen Iris on 21 December 2021, undertaking a routine inspection of trees across the land looking for signs of the shot hole borer bug in susceptible trees.

The establishment of this pest in WA could have significant impact on amenity trees, native vegetation, and some horticultural industries.

The Polyphagous shot hole borer (Euwallacea fornicates) is native to Southeast Asia and attacks over 400 species of trees. It burrows into the tree and brings with it the fungus Fusarium sp. which it then cultivates inside the tree as a food source for the beetle and its larvae. In susceptible trees, the fungus kills vascular tissue causing Fusarium dieback and tree death. More information can be found https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/borer

The routine inspection is part of the DPIRD Perth Metro teams’ surveillance of the bug.

At the upcoming meeting on Thursday, 9th December 2021, City of Cockburn councillors will be asked to consider starting the process to rezone the site of the proposed Glen Iris Estate.

If the rezoning process is initiated it is expected to take around 15 months, including the various steps for public advertising and referral to local and State Government agencies.

Our structure plan for the new Glen Iris Estate concept will be formally released for comment at the same time as the rezoning proposal.

Representing 18 months of careful planning and design, the vision is for a high-quality boutique residential neighbourhood of 550 to 600 new homes, where the existing natural landscape lives on, providing shade, shelter, and enjoyment for many more years to come.

The City of Cockburn will invite members of the local community to provide their comments on the plan direct to the council. This public advertising period would be open for 60 days.

A crucial component of our vision is taking down the old golf course chain mesh fences and creating a connected green neighbourhood with cycle paths, parks and playgrounds, exercise trails and gathering spaces that the entire Jandakot community can enjoy.

Our discussions and conversations with many members of the local community over the past year and a half have helped shape and inform the plan.

Key community-led ideas are reflected in the plan including interface buffers to existing homes, retention of mature trees, improved traffic solutions, large lots, quality homes, access to new and better parks, and additional local shops and cafes.

In the coming few weeks we will be undertaking maintenance across our land at Glen Iris to ensure the area is ready for the upcoming summer months.

The works will start with tree lopping and tidying up of fallen branches around various parts of the site, in readiness for the mowing and slashing works. It has been around 8 weeks since we last mowed the land, however the spring rains have seen the grasses and weeds grow back strong. Our mowing team will be mowing the grasses and slashing all the weeds across the property, with particular attention paid to the boundaries of the adjoining residential properties.

The tidy-up and mowing works are all part of the requirements we have for compliance with our Firebreak Variation agreed with the City of Cockburn and DFES, applicable during the months of November to April. Regular inspections of the site with City of Cockburn and DFES officers are being scheduled for the upcoming summer months.

After some heavy rainfall in early February, a number of residents reported odour from the lake on the western side of Twin Waters Pass.

The Project Team has been in discussions with the City of Cockburn to create a long term solution to this issue and we now have the Council’s approval to commence remedial work on Tuesday 2nd March.

The long term solution involves covering the lake beds with agricultural lime once they are empty. Agricultural lime raises the PH levels of soils and helps to kill bacteria, which in turn significantly reduces odour.

Work will commence at the Twin Waters Pass lake. A single truckload of agricultural lime will be brought in in a medium sized six wheeler truck. A bobcat will be used to spread the lime across the base of Twin Waters Pass lake.

This measured approach is designed to minimise the volume of truck and bobcat activity on-site. A water cart will be used for dust suppression.

Acumen’s project manager will be on site to monitor these works.