Scheme Amendment No. 63 – Preston Street Neighbourhood Centre

The Minister for Planning has approved Amendment 63 (Preston Street Neighbourhood Centre) subject to a number of modifications.

In May 2020, the Council resolved to support Amendment 63, which alters the planning controls for land within the Preston Street Neighbourhood Centre. This included changes to density and building height requirements that would allow buildings generally a maximum of 4 storeys, with potential for up to 6 storeys, to occur within the precinct.

The feedback provided by the community helped shape Council’s position on the amendment.

The final version of Amendment 63 includes a number of modifications made by the Minister for Planning, including

• Re-instating the maximum 13 storey height limit on ‘Site S’ (Cygnet Theatre side) and 8 storey height limit on ‘Site R’ (IGA side) as originally requested by the amendment proponents
• Modifying the distribution of height on each site, including limiting the height of buildings to Eric Street (Site S) to 5 storeys in lieu of the proponents proposal of 8 storeys. The changes result in height being concentrated in two towers (13 storeys on ‘Site S’ and 8 storeys on ‘Site R’), instead of being more spread out across the sites
• Increasing the rear/south setback on ‘Site R’ to improve light access and reduce the impact of building bulk; and
• Removing the Council’s proposal to make Shops greater than 1,200sqm a discretionary land use.

The amendment will now apply to new development. A copy of the Minister's resolution is available for download via the document library.

The provisions have been added to Town Planning Scheme 6, which is available for download from the City's website.

Council considered Scheme Amendment No. 63 - Preston Street Neighbourhood Centre at its meeting on 26 May 2020 where it was resolved to support the amendment subject to modifications.

The modifications are summarised as follows:

• The height of buildings on Site ‘S’ and Site ‘R’ being limited to between 4-6 storeys;
• The size of any shop (including a supermarket) automatically permitted in the amendment area being limited to 1,200sqm or less, about double the size of the existing supermarket;
• Site ‘R’ now includes No. 17 Preston Street;
• Additional provisions to further protect access to light and outlook (views) from adjoining properties.

The minutes and an electronic recording of the meeting are available on the City's website.

The amendment along with Council’s recommendation will now be forwarded to the Western Australian Planning Commission. The WAPC will consider the Council’s recommendation before the Minister for Planning determines the amendment.

Council will consider Amendment 63 at the May round of meetings and make a final recommendation to the Western Australian Planning Commission.

Due to COVID-19 the meetings will be held online. Members of the public can participate in the meeting by submitting a deputation request or questions to the relevant meeting.

You can also register to observe each of the meetings. A registration link will be available via the Council Meeting page on 5pm the Friday before each meeting. Early registration is recommended.

• The Agenda Briefing will be held at 6pm, Tuesday 19 May 2020. Given the considerable community interest in this amendment, the draft Officers Agenda Briefing report has been made available earlier than usual. The Consultation Summary Report is also available.

You may register to make a deputation online at the Agenda Briefing meeting. Applications close 24 hours before the briefing meeting. Forms are available via the City's website.

• The Council Meeting will be held 6pm, Tuesday 26 May 2020. You may submit questions for a response during the online public question time as part of this meeting. For more information, please visit the website.

The May Council Meeting agenda will be available by 5pm, Friday 22 May 2020. The final report will be available for download via the Council Meeting page of the website after this time.

Audio recordings of the meetings will be made available the following day.

A Summary Document has been prepared that explains the amendment in more detail. It is recommended that you review the Summary Document prior to providing feedback.

The amendment is also accompanied by a Report prepared by the parties that submitted the amendment to the City. This report provides justification for the amendment proposal. The report is accompanied by range of technical studies (such as a traffic assessment).

Plans and documents setting out and explaining the amendment are available for inspection at the City’s Civic Centre and the South Perth and Manning Libraries.

You can learn more about the amendment at the community drop in sessions, scheduled at the following times:

Saturday 8 February, 10am-12pm: Preston Street, between Labouchere Road and Mary Street, Como

Wednesday 19 February, 4.30-7pm and Tuesday 10 March, 9.30-11.30am: Civic Centre, Cnr Sandgate St and South Tce, South Perth

If you can’t make the drop in sessions, you can arrange to meet planning staff during business hours at any time.

If you have a question or would like further information or clarification, you can contact a strategic planning officer at the City to ask any questions you may have or to arrange a one-on-one meeting.

The Strategic Planning team can be contacted via email on enquiries@southperth.wa.gov.au (External link) or via phone on 9474 0777.