- Proposed three tower development in Nedlands won approval this week
- The development was scaled back from earlier proposals
- Local outcry has greeted the $320 million development
A ten-minute drive out from the city of Perth along Mounts Bay Road, with its stunning vistas of the Swan River on one side and the Kings Park escarpment on the other, lies an upmarket car yard in the leafy suburb of Nedlands.
Chellingworth Motors sells Bentleys and Porsches. Across the road is the art deco cinema, The Windsor, and nearby is the Captain Stirling Pub. You are now in one of Perth’s desirable western suburbs.
The median house price here is $1.73 million, according to data from the Real Estate Institute of WA (REIWA), and this has risen at 5.8% over the past year.
Nedlands is bordered by the old suburb of Dalkeith, trendy shopping centres in Claremont and also Crawley, which is mainly made up of the University of Western Australia and high rise apartments with river views.
This is the kind of place you’d find a Porsche or Bentley buyer. But all is not well.
A controversial three-tower development has been approved for the Chellingworth site. Even though the current proposal had been scaled back a bit from its original design, removing the towers down to three, and the highest height to 83 metres, the locals are making their objections heard. Even Nedlands council are not happy, nor is a local MP, nor an independent one running in the upcoming state election.
The $320 million development at 97-105 Stirling Highway was passed by three votes to two at a zoom meeting on Monday at the Metro Inner-North Joint Development Assessment Panel (JDAP).
Local backlash across media has touched all the Perth (and some national) papers and TV stations.
The developer is Melbourne-based Grange Development Consulting and Costa Property Group. They have been quoted as saying they are “delighted” with the JDAP decision in spite of examples of “misinformation” being circulated about the development.
The whole furore is set against a backdrop of plans to develop the ‘landmark site’ in the ‘town core’ according to local planning policy.
No doubt this story will rumble on.
