Kalgoorlie-Boulder's peak business group has accused the City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder of being "anti-development" amid an ongoing housing crisis in regional WA.
The Kalgoorlie-Boulder Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which represents more than 600 businesses, took the unusual step of publicly criticising city councillors in a media statement today.
It comes after the council knocked back development applications to transform a car park on Egan Street into townhouses, a 302-person mining camp in South Boulder, and last week, a housing development at Broadwood.
The decision to reject the CBD and Broadwood applications alone meant the council could will forgo more than $10.5 million in land sales.
The Egan Street site was rejected due to concerns for impacts on CBD parking, while the mining camp in South Boulder was voted down due to the area being zoned for light industry.
Last week, local Aboriginal elder Brian Champion Sr argued the Broadwood site was a significant cultural heritage area, and should be turned into a bushland park and historic memorial.
But the KBCCI said the council needed to do more to address the housing crisis in the city.
"Today there were 1,311 jobs [advertised] and that is only on one jobs website," CEO Simone de Been said.
"Where do these people live if we don’t have accommodation for them?"
The chamber said investors keen on developing the region had expressed concerns.
"[They've said] it is becoming simply 'too hard' and there appears to be a strong 'anti-development' stance being taken by council," a statement from the KBCCI read.
Ms de Been also said the lack of development was leading to big companies pricing local families out of the market.
“Companies are now purchasing properties and securing leases for their workforce," the CEO said.
"This makes it much harder for other people in the community who need accommodation where it is not in the name of a company.”
Mayor also frustrated with decisions
Speaking to the ABC last week, City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder Mayor John Bowler said the Broadwood decision was frustrating.
"I am getting frustrated, but we have a democracy and the council voted that way," the Mayor said.
"I'll now work with the council to try and find another area of land in our city to sell, because we are desperate to get more accommodation."
Rejection costly for company
Mining logistics company MLG Oz, which has backed a mining camp proposed for a light industrial area in South Boulder, told the ABC in March it would be challenging the council's decision at the State Administrative Tribunal.
Managing director Murray Leahy said that would be a costly process.
"It's now going to cost our company money, it's going to cost the TopDrill company money, but more importantly it's going to cost the ratepayers of Kalgoorlie money in going through that process," Mr Leahy said in March.
He said the accommodation crisis in the mining city was a persistent challenge for his locally grown firm.
"We currently have 47 vacancies in our local Kalgoorlie depot, we're advertising every day," Mr Leahy said.
"The problem we've got is we're unable to offer any more fly-in, fly-out roles because I cannot get a single bed for two weeks at a time."
