Subiaco council to call on premier over stand-off

The ongoing stand-off between the City of Subiaco and the Subiaco Redevelopment Authority over the old China Green site has worsened, with the former planning to appeal to Premier Alan Carpenter to intervene on the issue.

Despite opposition to the development from the city, the SRA has continued with forward works to develop the 4.2 hectare site into office blocks and apartments, as part of the Subi Centro renewal project.

However, the city's development committee has recommended that council reject the SRA's latest move to decommission a water main on the site, on the basis that a subdivision approval is yet to be awarded.

It has also recommended that council request Mr Carpenter to address the SRA's lack of responsiveness.

City of Subiaco councillor Murray Rowe said he believed the issue should be resolved through an independent mediator.

"The bottom line is the Premier should be looking at this - there's a lot of public interest," he said.

Earlier this year, the city approached Sydney-based agency Australian Commercial Dispute Centre for expert determination of the stand-off.

It subsequently received a letter from Planning Minister Alannah MacTiernan offering to act as mediator, which was rejected on the basis that there would be a conflict of interest.

Mr Rowe said there was a major issue with the high level of density and a lack of parking in the proposed plans.

"The effect will be that people living in the area, already dealing with a lack of parking, will be affected even further," he said.

"We don't have the transport infrastructure of somewhere like Melbourne to support this."

Of further concern is the 55,000 square metres of offices proposed for the site, which Mr Rowe said was too dense in its current form.

"This will be a physical block coming into the city,'' he told WA Business News.

"We've had advice from consultants in the United States on bookmarking the entry to the city and as far as we're concerned, that end will be butchered by this development."

According to the city, a number of design elements of the SRA's plan violate the conditions under which the city originally sold the site to the development body, including the height and scale of the buildings.

Under the current plans, building heights of five or six storeys will be permitted, including one 10-storey building, with between 250 and 330 dwellings to be built.

Meanwhile, the SRA is understood to have sent its final recommendations on the site's development to Ms MacTiernan for consideration.