44-storey high-rise development for South Perth scrapped

SOUTH Perth residents say they feel vindicated by last night’s Metro Central Joint Development Assessment Panel (JDAP) decision to refuse approval of the 44-storey Lumiere development application by Edge Living.

City of South Perth Mayor Sue Doherty also said it was a win for the local community.

“Common sense has prevailed and JDAP’s decision reflects orderly and proper planning practices,” Cr Doherty said.

Residents and representatives for the developers filled the gallery of South Perth’s council chambers for more than four hours and listened to more than two hours of deputations and about an hour of amendments to the reasons for refusal, before debate began among the JDAP members.

The panel included two South Perth councillors.

Members voted 4-1 to refuse the development due to its scale and adverse impact to amenity.

The matter will now go to State Administrative Tribunal (SAT) but South Perth Peninsula Action Group spokeswoman Vicki Redden said the group was “quite confident” SAT would come to the same conclusion.

“The Supreme Court made it clear that it must be predominantly non-residential,” she said, referring to the case heard in December last year that was funded by two Mill Point Road residents.

Lumiere was originally to have 29-storeys of apartments but after the Supreme Court’s ruling it applied for 44-storeys, to include 147 luxury serviced apartments.

Edge Living spokesman Paul Plowman said interest remained strong and 60 of the 80 proposed Lumiere apartments had sold, totalling $90 million to date.

“We are naturally disappointed by the decision,” he said.

He added the developers felt they had largely addressed employment and traffic concerns and that the JDAP decision was part of the process but not the end.

“This process is unusual and unique with the decision to take it to the Supreme Court,” he said.

Edge Living have appealed the Supreme Court’s decision, with a date yet to be set for the appeal.