A proposal to build a two-storey petrol station and convenience store in East Perth has been deferred after a development panel found the $3 million plan inconsistent with local use.
A proposal to build a two-storey petrol station and convenience store in East Perth has been deferred after a development panel found the $3 million plan inconsistent with local use.
South Australian petrol station brand OTR has proposed to build a two-storey convenience store on a vacant lot at 131 Wellington Street.
The proposed store includes a car wash, a drive-through facility with an ordering bay, ground floor retail tenancy for petrol and convenience goods, and an upper-level staff training space.
The City of Perth has recommended the proposal be refused, but members of the Local Development Assessment Panel today decided to defer the matter for six months in a narrow margin of three votes to two.
The city has anticipated the site as a high-density residential use and considered a low scale convenience store to be an inappropriate development for the location, according to the city’s DAP report.
DAP third specialist member Diana Goldswain voted to refuse the application, saying the applicant had ample opportunity to solve the issues raised by the city.
“It’s a difficult site for a petrol station and to address what the city wants,” Ms Goldswain said at today’s meeting.
“There’s no will to modify it beyond some declaration, I don’t have any confidence we’re going to have a better iteration in six months’ time.”
However, three out of the five panel members supported a six-month deferral.
“It’s a blank slate in a very prominent corner and there’s an opportunity to do a landmark development,” DAP deputy presiding member Lindsay Baxter said.
The site, on the corner of Wellington and Hill streets, sits diagonally across from the lot earmarked for the state government’s Common Ground project.
A Caltex station was on the site until its demolition in 2020.
Data from Corelogic shows the site was acquired by Perth OHP Pty Ltd, or OTR, for $4.24 million in December 2019.
The city’s development approvals alliance manager Julia Kingsbury said the site could accommodate much more than what had been proposed.
“We understand and acknowledge that these amenities are required in a city centre,” she said.
“This is going to be a neighbourhood with a lot of residents.
“We believe there is a design solution but it’s probably significantly different to what’s been proposed currently.”
OTR operates service stations in SA, Victoria and WA, including in Como, Jandakot and Roleystone.
Earlier this year, the Metro Inner-North Joint Development Assessment Panel knocked back OTR's application to build a service station on Angove Street, North Perth.
The proposal attracted significant backlash from the community and the matter has been referred to the State Administrative Tribunal.
