THE Vines Residents and Ratepayers Association (VRRA) held their annual general meeting (AGM) discussing the Swan planning review, upcoming Supreme Court hearing, and campaign tactics.

VRRA vice-chair Dixon Lowe said traction was building with the interest in the development issues in the Swan Valley broadening.

He said it was important to continue voicing concerns among members as there was a disconnect between the level of resident opposition to the redevelopment of The Vines and what was being approved.

“Golf members who speak up are afraid they might get in trouble,” Mr Lowe said of the factors limiting conversation.

“We are still increasing visibility of the issue and we may need to demonstrate again.

“We’re glad there is growing attention on the flooding issues in the Swan Valley and the proposals for redevelopment of The Vines.”

As reported in Swan Valley residents rally against development (Echo News, November 28, 2025) Swan Valley residents protested at Parliament House to oppose developer changes to The Vines and to preserve open green spaces in the Swan Valley.

VRRA member Gavan Troy said the review would soon come to a close with community review contributors being given a result on Thursday but concerns remained.

“The City of Swan have not addressed some of the concerns I raised and obliged with my requests to publish the context surrounding the questions I have asked them,” he said.

“It’s important for the public to understand where I am coming from and my concerns that inform the review if they wish to follow along.

“I can tell you there was great difficulty in obtaining the appropriate terms of reference for the review.

“I’m not here to protect the City of Swan staff but you must recognise the overall environment in which they’re operating.

“If you look at the world of planning in Western Australia, it’s a very small circle, and if a council staff fails to undertake their work in time, there’s a reputation they gain as a result of it.

“The council staff were thus subjected to an increased stress on needing to turn these reports around so much quicker and of course they were also accommodating the growth that’s in the City of Swan in particular so that put them under a stress situation.

“It wasn’t helped by state government changes.

“This planning review spans a whole lot of areas in the Swan and we need to scrutinise what is being allowed under delegated authority by the city staff and approved.

“I find it quite alarming that there seems to be a lack of transparency when certain approvals are given without the public’s knowledge.

“The review’s focus should not be about individual decisions but rather if guidelines, process and frameworks that are in place were followed by city staff.”