Australian supermarket giant Coles has won approval to build a commercial centre on the outskirts of a small riverfront town south of Perth.
The state’s peak planning authority—the Western Australian Planning Commission—last week gave the green light for Coles Group Property Developments Ltd to build a supermarket-anchored shopping centre at the corner of Pinjarra and Old Mandurah roads, Ravenswood.
The $29.1-million project, about 70km south of Perth and on the banks of the Murray River, would be the first stage of the planned Ravenswood Neighbourhood Centre and future Ravenswood District Centre.
Stage One is a shopping centre with a combined floor area of 4700sq m, about three-quarters of which would be used by Coles for a supermarket and liquor store.
Three other retail tenancies would have floor areas of 150 to 200sq m and parking will be created for 265 vehicles. That first stage also calls for a new north-south main street to connect Pinjarra Road with Old Mandurah Road.
A second stage will add a medical centre, pharmacy, a 420sq m office tenancy and a 725sq m childcare facility for up to 90 children.
A third stage—subject to separate planning approval—will begin “once the centre matures and demand drives the need for additional commercial floor space”.
Future planning will include three 120sq m commercial tenancies, likely to be used for food and drink outlets.
“In the interim, the future development sites will be landscaped with lawn, garden beds and seating which will be connected to water, mains power and sewer to facilitate future development with minimal site works,” the planning commission was told.
The proposed development is contained within a 3.3ha portion of an 8.64ha lot at the corner of Pinjarra and Old Mandurah roads, about 7.5km north-west of the Pinjarra town site, and 300m from the Murray River.
Consultants Element Advisory said the development would create about 65 full-time-equivalent jobs during the construction phase and direct employment for 172 within the supermarket, speciality shops, medical centre, childcare centre and offices.
Economically, total output is estimated to increase by up to $43 million.
The process to planning approval began in December 2021, with key stakeholder and community consulting about 13 months later.
In approving the development, the planning commission said there had been 86 submissions received during a public exhibition period, with 53 of them supporting the project. Another 15 were in favour but wanted changes to the proposal, and 18 objected to it, concerned at “how the development will integrate with the surrounding area”.
In June last year the developers sent the proposal back to WA’s State Design Review Panel (SDRP) with changes to internal street design, building orientation, landscaping and improvements to public spaces.
Despite the changes, Main Roads WA has refused to support the development, saying the Ravenswood Outline Development Plan (RODP) was outdated and that “further precinct planning for the broader Ravenswood area is required before further development can be supported”.
And, while at a meeting in March last year the Murray Shire Council agreed to support the proposal in principle, it too was concerned “the development may prejudice the future planning of the emerging Ravenswood District Centre”.
