The proposal for a multi-building apartment project along Stirling Highway on the Chellingworth Motors site has been approved.
The proposal for a multi-building apartment project along Stirling Highway on the Chellingworth Motors site has been approved.
Joint-venture partners Grange Development Consulting and Costa Property Group’s initial plans for 97-105 Stirling Highway, known as the Chellingworth Motor site, were knocked back by the Joint Development Assessment Panel last year.
When the JDAP panel made its decision in July 2020, it was almost divided, voting three to two in favour of the City of Nedlands recommendation for refusal, based largely off the proposed bulk, scale and height of the buildings.
The developers went back to the drawing board, submitting a revised development application proposing a reduction of total apartments from 301 to 231, as well as decreasing the number of towers from four to three (removing an 11-storey inner-east tower).
The new plans also scaled back the height of each tower - the tallest now stands two levels shorter at 24 storeys ( a maximum of 83.3 metres above the natural ground level), with the added inclusion of rooftop communal open space.
The revised proposal in comparison to the original plans. Source: JDAP meeting agenda
Today, that revised development application was given the green light, set to become the largest and tallest residential projects in Nedlands' history.
Urbanista Town Planning director Bianca Sandri, who attended today’s meeting acting as a consultant to the developers, told Business News the JDAP had voted three to two, in favour of approving the proposal.
Ms Sandri said the three specialist members voted for the project, while the two council officers voted against it.
The City of Nedlands recommended the project for refusal last week, again largely pointing to the proposed building mass, scale and height.
The city said it had received a total of 223 submissions during the public consultation period last November, with 10 in support of the project and the remaining 213 objecting to the proposal.
However, the City of Nedlands Town Planning Scheme No.3 has a clause that outlines there is no height control for the area, with that particular site earmarked as a landmark town centre site.
Ms Sandri said that theremore meant there was no statutory provision for the actual height, instead assessed on element objectives in the Design WA document.
“There’s enough planning framework that identifies this site being the landmark site within the future town centre and the level of community benefit, the excellent architectural design and the planning merit ultimately got this over the line,” Ms Sandri told Business News.
“It had to be asessed on element objectives in the Design WA document and that speaks to what is the planned future character and intent of the area and there is enough to support this proposal being appropriate given the amount of strategic and statutory planning framework that there is.
“That document also says that development being in an RAC 1 zone, as having a future character of an urban centre with a podium and tower development.
“So that speaks to that future character and scale.
"At the end of the day the development is providing 44 per cent on ground community benefit, an incredible amount of communal benefit for the future residents and it’s the first net zero carbon building in WA."
Mr Dibble told Business News he was grateful to the JDAP panel members, who had taken the time to assess the project on fact and merit.
