Shire fees waived for owners to rebuild

Property owners in several Mid West shires who need to repair or replace buildings damaged by cyclone Seroja will not have to pay building or planning application fees for demolition or rebuilding.

Perenjori, Mingenew and Chapman Valley councillors have agreed to waive the fees after considering a report by Shire of Chapman Valley acting chief executive Simon Lancaster.

Mr Lancaster said this measure would provide some financial assistance to community members as they began the recovery process.

Chapman Valley Shire president Anthony Farrell described these as “little fees and charges” that all added up.

“When someone has been under the pump through a disaster like that, every little bit helps,” he said.

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Mingenew Shire president Gary Cosgrove said the move was “just a commonsense thing to do”.

“People are under enough stress now, we don’t have to be putting additional cost on for something they had no control over,” he said.

Perenjori Shire president Chris King said the motion passed “exactly as it read”.

“An extra cost on top of current circumstances is not needed, it is not a big part of our regular budget,” he said.

The fees from 27 building applications are welcome but we are not trying to scalp the people who are suffering.

Three Springs Shire council was to consider a similar motion when it met on Wednesday .

The Shire of Northampton on Friday agreed to a zero rates increase for all properties in the shire for the 2021-22 year to support cyclone-affected property owners.

This is the second consecutive year in which the council has implemented a rates freeze.