SOUTH Perth residents Karyl Nairn and Ric Hawley last week won their case in the WA Court of Appeal against the development approval for a 34-storey tower on Mill Point Road for the second time.
The development application by Edge Visionary Living for a 116.5m building was granted approval by the Metro Central Joint Development Assessment Panel (JDAP) in November 2016.
Mr Hawley said the developer had wrongly tried to characterise the overwhelming opposition to the development as “nimby-ism”.
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READ NOW“I am not anti-development but high rise residential buildings of the kind being promoted by Edge on the peninsula are unacceptable for myriad sensible planning reasons,” he said.
The JDAP said plot and height variations could be allowed on the grounds that the proposal comprised a non-residential plot ratio of more 50 per cent, a condition set out in the City of South Perth’s Town Planning Scheme (TPS) 6. However, the Court of Appeal found the JDAP exceeded its jurisdiction in determining the predominantly non-residential land use.
In 2017, the City amended its TPS6 removing the requirement to have 50 per cent of mixed developments as commercial use.
Edge Visionary Living managing director Gavin Hawkins said the decision came as a surprise.
“It is interesting that the grounds the court refused our approval was again on whether the building was predominantly commercial in nature,” he said.
“As much as we are disappointed with the court’s findings, the decision has reaffirmed that there is no issue with the height, bulk or scale of the building.”
Edge has lodged a new proposal for a 36-storey development. The new application is for a 118.2m mixed use development that includes 30 serviced apartments, 112 residential apartments, cafe, community meeting room, commercial offices and basement stores, services and residential parking.