Freo Woolstores redevelopment blocked

Silverleaf Investments' proposal to redevelop the Woolstores Shopping Centre in Fremantle has been knocked-back by the Metro-South West Joint Development Assessment Panel, largely due to its design and scale.

Plans for the Cantonment Street site included a new shopping centre, commercial space, residential dwellings, as well as student accommodation, and was anticipated to be anchored by a 141-room Adina Apartment Hotel.  

Extra height allowance is permissible for the site, on the condition that it satisfies ‘the requirement of being of distinctive architecture befitting its location and exceptional design quality’.

When the design, by The Buchan Group, was put forward to the council’s independent design advisory committee (DAC) last year it recommended changes so that it could meet this condition.

The changes made were not enough to sway the DAC, which found amendments had not raised the plans to an “exceptional level” earlier this month, leading the City of Fremantle to recommend the JDAP refuse the proposal.

The JDAP delivered their decision for refusal on Wednesday.

Minutes stated that the development was detrimental to the amenity of the area as it did not comply with the discretionary additional building height provisions; it was not considered compatible with its location by way of height, bulk, scale and appearance; and it was considered to negatively impact the character of the locality.

 Business News reached out to Silverleaf Investments, which did not respond in time for publication.

More to come.