Green light for Hall & Prior’s $90m build

The Western Australian Planning Commission has approved Hall & Prior’s $90 million application to build an aged care facility on the former Woodside Hospital site.

A four-storey residential facility comprising 160 beds, a wellness centre and an independent living component will be built at the corner of Dalgety and Fortescue streets in East Fremantle.

The WAPC today approved the project, dubbed Woodside Care Precinct, during a meeting that ran for more than two hours.

A development application for the project, prepared by Planning Solutions, shows an estimated project cost of $90 million.

The one-hectare site houses the heritage-listed Woodside house, formerly the Woodside maternity hospital.

Hall & Prior Health and Aged Care Group, and the Fire and Emergency Services Superannuation Fund will develop the site into a 160-bed residential aged facility, wellness centre; and two supported independent living houses for people living with a disability.

“We all have a collective responsibility in caring for our older people and those who need additional support, like those living with a disability,” Hall & Prior chief executive Graeme Prior said.

“The demand for quality aged care in our community is significant and older Western Australians deserve the opportunity to stay in the community they love, even when they are unable to live independently.

“As custodians of the site, Hall & Prior will ensure Woodside will provide a much-needed facility for residents to call home, while respecting the site’s heritage values.”

Hall & Prior corporate development senior manager Daniel Prior said aged care facilities in nearby areas were at capacity.

The proposal did attract significant opposition from the East Fremantle community, acknowledged by Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage officer Shane Downs at the WAPC meeting.

"There’s no denying the community has a strong connection [to the heritage]," he said.

Hall & Prior initially lodged its application with the Joint Development Assessment Panel in July 2022 but withdrew the application in March this year.

The application was re-submitted with the state government’s State Development Assessment Unit pathway that is intended for shovel-ready projects.

Hall & Prior acquired the East Fremantle subject lot for $13 million in 2017.