CURRAMBINE has moved one step closer to having an Aldi store.
Joondalup councillors last Tuesday night supported an amendment to its district planning scheme to allow for a shop at the business-zoned lot at 86 Delamere Avenue.
Under the business zoning, a shop could only be approved if it had less than 200sq m of shopping floorspace. Aldi is looking to develop a 1500sq m store.
Get in front of tomorrow's news for FREE
Journalism for the curious Australian across politics, business, culture and opinion.
READ NOWThe amendment also applies to other business-zoned lots in the Currambine District Centre.
It was advertised for 42 days, closing on December 24, with 12 submissions received supporting the proposed amendment.
At the previous week’s council briefing, Cr Philippa Taylor asked if having three major supermarkets (Woolworths, Farmer Jacks and Aldi) in the one shopping centre would detract from the original vision of a mixed-use Currambine District Centre.
Planning and community development director Dale Page said there were initial concerns of too many shops when the centre was being developed.
“But the way the Currambine centre has matured, we’ve actually seen a reversal of that,” she said.
“There are a lot of other land uses but they’re struggling to get some decent tenants on the main strips. The centre has now reached the level of maturity where extra shops isn’t going to hurt the diversity.
“There’s certainly more space for shops in this area, especially if they provide a point of difference for the residents.”
She also reminded councillors that approving the amendment did not mean Aldi would be approved because it still needed to go through the development application process.
At the meeting, Cr Kerry Hollywood said the land had been “vacant for a long time” and she hoped Aldi would come to Currambine.
The amendment will be forwarded to the WA Planning Commission for consideration.
Aldi is also developing stores at Joondalup and Butler.