Plans to transform Bond's marine park into $16m precinct

Woolworths will have to wait two months before finding out whether it can build a $16 million commercial precinct at the former home of Alan Bond’s Atlantis Marine Park after the application was deferred this morning.

According to a development application, lodged by town planning consultancy Urbis on Woolworths’ behalf, the plan comprises a 2,940 square metre supermarket, five special retail tenancies, a liquor store, cage, an office and 219 car parking bays.

The commercial precinct is earmarked for a vacant 7.8 hectare site at Enterprise Avenue in Two Rocks owned by Fini Group, the former home of the Atlantis Marine Park.

The park was established by Alan Bond in the early 1980s and has remained largely undevelopment since the closure of the park in 1990.

That was up until last year, when a major subdivision of the site began, and contains the now heritage-listed King Neptune statue.

The proposal had received the backing of the City of Wanneroo council, which recommended the plans be approved subject to a suite of conditions.

But some sections of the community were not as supportive, with 148 of the 208 submissions received during the public consultation period opposed to the development.

That included a petition objecting to the proposal, which featured more than 1,200 signatures.

The main concerns raised centred around the number of existing commercial precincts in the area, whether the development was appropriate given its proximity to the coastline and the heritage value of the site, the impact of increases in traffic and amenity; including light and air pollution and increased noise.

During a meeting earlier today, the Metro Outer Joint Development Assessment Panel opted to defer the application for a period of eight weeks.