A BID to overturn the Metro Central Joint Development Assessment Panel’s (JDAP) approval of a Woolworths on the corner of Canning Highway and Reynolds Road in Mt Pleasant has failed.
The legal bid against the JDAP decision was launched by Canning Bridge IGA owner Greg Brindle’s company Milem Pty Ltd and was heard by the Supreme Court in July.
Justice Gail Archer made the decision to reject the application for a judicial review on Friday, November 30 citing that the panel “did not act legally unreasonably as alleged by the grounds of judicial review”.
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READ NOWA lawyer for Milem Pty Ltd argued that the panel members should have questioned advice they received from the City of Melville about traffic congestion.
The panel gave the green light to the supermarket in August 2017, despite concerns about the $23.5 million development’s impact on traffic.
The development was first considered by the JDAP in March 2017 when it was deferred following questions about the proponent’s traffic impact study.
Work on the project began in February and will include a ground-level Woolworths store and space for special tenancies above the shopping centre.
The development, which replaces the old medical precinct opposite the two-storey McDonald’s restaurant, is expected to include two underground levels with bays for up to 236 cars.
In March 2018, the panel accepted a proposal for a liquor store and cafe at the site after it voted 3-2 to allow the conversion of two shop tenancies.