Zone Q's South Perth apartments rejected, again

China-backed developer Zone Q Investments’ plans for a South Perth apartment tower on MIll Point Road have been rejected for a second time by planning authorities, as uncertainty over the suburb’s town planning scheme puts a cloud over future development.

Earlier this month, the metropolitan central development assessment panel met to discuss Zone Q’s revised $175 million, proposal for 86-90 Mill Point Road.

A previous proposal for the site was refused approval by the DAP in March this year, because it did not meet City of South Perth planning requirements for buildings over a certain height to be predominantly commercial use.

The proposal comprised a 38-level tower incorporating five levels of commercial tenancies, including a high-level aged care centre, in a 7-storey podium, and 163 apartments.

Zone Q, which is nearing completion of its Pinnacle apartment project opposite Perth Zoo in South Perth, applied for a review of the project’s rejection at the State Administrative Tribunal, and following mediation, lodged a revised plan on August 23.

The revisions of the plan were designed to address concerns over the proposal’s overall height, taking it down to 34 levels, as well as traffic issues, but it was nonetheless rejected by the DAP.

Reasons for the rejection included the building and its podium height not fitting in with the city’s town planning regime, while the DAP also was not satisfied that its concerns with traffic management were addressed.

The rejection follows the City of South Perth vowing to fund a legal battle to overturn the approval of another tower along Mill Point Road, Edge Visionary Living’s controversial Lumiere.

The Lumiere saga has gone on for more than 18 months, with an initial 29-level proposal being approved in May last year.

However, a groundswell of community opposition to the project resulted in a successful Supreme Court challenge to that approval.

Edge Visionary Living then lodged two more proposals – a 44-storey tower, which was rejected, and a 34-storey tower, which won DAP approval last month.

Following that approval, the City of South Perth said it would set aside $60,000 of ratepayer funds to pursue legal advice over the building.

Both of the rejected projects are located in an area that was previously earmarked for high-rise development, with the City of South Perth essentially removing height limits in 2011, in an attempt to encourage developers to provide the density needed for the state government to build a train station at Richardson Street.

However, after community groups protested a raft of 35-storey-plus proposals, the City of South Perth decided to revise its town planning scheme again, to limit the height of potential projects.

That revision to the town planning scheme, known as amendment 46, has been assessed by the Western Australian Planning Commission, and is now with Planning Minister Donna Faragher for her consideration.