The Town of Cambridge’s council chambers was filled with disgruntled residents on Tuesday night over the proposed vision for the prime Floreat shopping centre site.
The Floreat Precinct Structure Plan, recently lodged by investment group APIL, drew the ire of locals after it was earmarked for an 18 to 20-storey apartment complex along with multiple other high-rise towers.
Alice O’Connor, who lives in the proposed residential area for development, said an 18 to 20-storey tower did not fit well in Floreat.
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“I don’t believe the developers’ blurb of providing us with apartments to downsize in,” she said.
“I certainly won’t be taking up the challenge,” she said.
“If we want to share beautiful Floreat with others, let’s plan it carefully; plonking many enormous skyscrapers over one location is not the answer.”
Many attendees called for the town to create its own plan for the Floreat site as councillors had voted to do in December.
However, when asked when the town’s own Floreat Precinct Structure Plan would come to fruition, acting planning and community services director Fraser Henderson suggested modifications to the APIL plan, rather than creating its own separate plan, might be a solution.
“Council asked the town to produce a structure plan and that is a really complicated process to do and an expensive process,” he said.
“It is likely the council will definitely have to have dealt with the APIL plan and the WA Planning Commission deals with the APIL one before the council may progress with its own.
“There is potential we can modify the APIL plan to fit, or do our own one in competition. We can make amendments to the WA Planning Commission.”
Mayor Gary Mack agreed the council had alternatives to preparing another structure plan.
“We were advised of the time limitations and there are some strategies we can deploy rather than having another structure plan,” the Mayor added.
Floreat resident Anthony McKinley said he hoped the town could offer a “competing solution”.
“There is a lot of smart people in this council and the potential negative impact that the current structure plan presents I am sure would inspire other people to crowdsource or give their time to make something a bit better for Floreat,” he said, which was met with applause from the crowd.
The Town of Cambridge is expected to provide a recommendation on the Floreat Precinct Structure Plan to the WAPC by September.
The WAPC has the final say on the plan and will consider the proposal after receiving council feedback.