26 August 2014
Lease Amendments
Leaseholders will have received postal correspondence from the Shire of Denmark RE:Peaceful Bay Cottages – Offer to Amend Lease Clause 14.02. Three copies of a Variation of Lease of Crown Land Form have been included. Please complete these forms and return to the Shire office. The Shire will then submit the variation to the Minister for Lands for approval and endorsement.
5 March 2014
Variation of Lease
Leaseholders have received postal correspondence from the Shire of Denmark offering a variation of the lease agreement. This variation provides clarity that leaseholders can remove their cottage at the end of the term of the lease (as per the previous lease). Leaseholders are encouraged to accept ‘Option 1’ to amend Clause 14.02 of the lease agreement and return by post to the Shire of Denmark. Remember, all parties (owners) shown on the existing lease must sign. Return the signed form to the Shire of Denmark no later than 31st March 2014.
12 February 2014
Peaceful Bay Cottage Ownership
At the Shire of Denmark Council Meeting 11th Feb 2014 a motion was passed acknowledging cottages in the Leasehold area of Peaceful Bay are owned by the leaseholder. This is a positive outcome following over 12 months of negotiation. Further information to be provided in the coming weeks.
10 December 2013
Update on Peaceful Bay Leasehold Land Tenure
Council is currently considering recommendations made in relation to Leasehold Land Tenure. Stewart Thompson of TME Group was commissioned by the Shire to carry out a feasibility study to consider the possibility of leasehold lots at Peaceful Bay being converted to freehold title. Part of the brief was to identify the costs involved and define a process which could be followed to achieve this outcome.
Shire has considered the report and is intending to carry our public consultation with leaseholders during early 2014.
Some important implications that need to be understood from the report:
- for free holding of the lots to go ahead at least 50% of leaseholders need to commit to buying the lots to raise the necessary funding for the development
- if the Shire decides to go ahead with free holding, current lease holders will be given a 12 month period to decide to buy their lots
- if a leaseholder declines to buy their lot, they will retain their current lease but at the end of that period their lease will not be renewed and the lots will be sold
- the financial cost of free holding is significant (costings are outlined in the Report from TME)
Free holding will NOT occur unless a significant number of leaseholders support it and it is certainly not something that is going to happen in the short term but IF it does go ahead it will be during the term of the current lease.
The decision to be made is vitally important to your tenure at Peaceful Bay so please attend any community forums to be held.
Leaseholders are urged to read the report from TME which is available on the Shire Website www.denmark.wa.gov.au >> Minutes 22 October 2013, Attachment 8.5.2 and the discussion and recommendations from the Minutes of the Shire meeting of the same date. Please contact Denmark Shire if you are unable to access the documents – ph 9848 0300.
The TME report can also be downloaded by clicking << here >> (1.8MB).
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26 November 2013
The matter went before council on 22nd October 2013 and representatives from the PBPA spoke against the proposal for cottage ownership to be placed with the Shire. The response from many Councillors was favourable.
The Progress Association are now working to have the Denmark Shire write to all leaseholders acknowledging that ownership of the cottages remains with the leaseholder. Also we are seeking an amendment to each lease in this regard.
Separately, an information forum on the merits or otherwise of freehold title or strata title is being arranged for January. Dates and times to be advised in due course.
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21 October 2013
The final outcomes of the Working Group and Report will be reported to Council on 22 October 2013. The recommendations of the Working Group are;
- That the Peaceful Bay Tenure Working Group recommend to Council that ownership of the Peaceful Bay leasehold cottages remain with the respective Leaseholder. Unless the Leaseholder does not seek to assume ownership.
- That Council resolves to amend the Conservation Plan and Local Planning Policy 35 to reflect that the heritage values are obtained from the built form rather than the buildings themselves.
- That Council endorse the report.
The Working Group report on the merits of Freehold or Strata Title for Peaceful Bay has been finalised and is available to download by clicking << here >>.
As this is a large topic which poses many questions the Community will be provided with a summary in the coming weeks.
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26 September 2013
The Working Group (Progress Association and the Shire of Denmark) to discuss the merits of converting to strata or freehold completed its first meeting on 11th March 2013, its second meeting on 8th April 2013, its third meeting on 10th June 2013, its fourth meeting on 8th July 2013, and fifth and final meeting on 12th August 2013. Meetings have concluded and were productive. Final outcomes of the Working Group were scheduled to be reported to Council during September 2013 however this has been delayed to late October 2013. The Progress Association will provide an update to the Community once the final outcomes of the Working Group are reported to Council. This update is now likely during late October / early November 2013.
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26 January 2013
A good turnout at the Progress Association AGM on 5th Jan 2013. The lease matter was discussed and a copy of the meeting minutes are available – see the ‘Minutes’ page of this web site.
The lease matter went before Shire of Denmark councillors on 22nd Jan 2013. At this meeting Council agreed to defer further consideration of cottage ownership until the merits of converting to strata or freehold are studied in conjunction with the Peaceful Bay Progress Association. A working group is to be formed consisting of Shire Officers and Councillors, and representatives of the Peaceful Bay Progress Association. The working group is to report back to the Council before end of July 2013.
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12 Dec 2012
The Progress Association has written to the Shire of Denmark requesting that the Shire acknowledge that the cottages are the tenant’s property and amend the leases. The matter was to go before the Shire of Denmark Council on 18th Dec 2012 but this has been delayed. Further details will be provided at the AGM of the Progress Association. All community members are requested to attend the AGM of the Progress Association on 5th Jan from 7:30pm. Have your say on the matter at the AGM.
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16 Nov 2012
The Progress Association has received independent legal advice on the lease matter. Based on this legal advice the Progress Association will write to the Shire of Denmark and request that the Shire acknowledge that the cottages are the tenant’s property and seek an amendment to each lease in this regard. This letter will be sent to the CEO of the Shire of Denmark, all relevant Shire management, and all Denmark Shire councillors.
Along with the current efforts, the Progress Association recommends that all community members write to the CEO of the Shire of Denmark expressing their concern at the Shires proposed actions. If you require assistance in writing then please contact Mavis (Secretary) – ph 9841 4037 or email secretary@peacefulbayprogress.org.au
All members will receive an update in the post in the coming days.
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10 Oct 2012
The date for submissions to the Shire of Denmark has been extended to 31 November 2012. Any leaseholder who wishes to make a submission regarding the Shires recent advice on leases at Peaceful Bay should do so before 30th Nov. The Progress Association is collecting copies of all the submissions so please forward a copy to Mavis (Secretary) by post, email or fax. Further updates on this matter will be issued by the Progress Association – visit the website for these updates.
post – Peaceful Bay Progress Association Peaceful Bay WA 6333
email – secretary@peacefulbayprogress.org.au
fax – 9463 1431
