The Town of Cambridge is reaffirming its stance that major development proposals impacting local communities should be decided through transparent, accountable planning processes that respect local strategies and community aspirations.
On 22 January 2026, the Western Australian Planning Commission (WAPC) convened to approve an application to amend the existing approval for the 23-storey Ocean Village redevelopment in City Beach. The application was approved under the Part 17 Significant Development pathway.
Mayor Gary Mack stated that while the Town had participated constructively in the assessment process, its broader concerns and profound disappointment with the Part 17 process remain unchanged.
Following an October 2025 Council resolution, the Town informed the WAPC that it endorsed the proposed design and parking refinements within the existing approval. It suggested conditions requiring a Landscape Management Plan, Arboricultural Impact Assessment, and Tree Protection/Method Statement to ensure vegetation and public realm outcomes are properly managed. The Town also recommended updates to the specifications for servicing, waste, tree protection, and landscaping to support safe, long-term operation.
“The proposal is considered to represent a neutral planning outcome. While there are improvements in design, accessibility, parking and landscaping, there remains a further loss of commercial activity which weakens the intended mixed-use role of the site,” Mayor Mack said.
“Our role as a local government is to assess the merits of what is put before us, but our community rightly expects that large projects will be subject to meaningful local scrutiny within an established planning framework.”
The application, lodged by the landowner in September 2025 under Part 17C of the Planning and Development Act 2005, sought approval for revisions to the previous (March 2025) development approval. The original approval authorised a 23-storey mixed-use building comprising 247 dwellings and 6,480 square metres of commercial floor space.
The proposed modifications do not alter overall height, bulk or form, but include:
- Reduction in commercial floor space from 6,480m² to 4,752m² (16 to 11 tenancies);
- Removal of the approved tavern and several retail uses;
- Addition of 17 dwellings (total of 264); and,
- Refinements to landscaping, accessibility, parking layout and façade articulation.
While recognising that some refinements offer measurable improvements, the Town is concerned that the reduction in commercial floor space diminishes employment, service, and amenity functions within the Town’s strategic activity-centre hierarchy.
Under the Town’s Local Planning Scheme No. 1, the site is zoned ‘Local Centre’, and draft Local Planning Scheme No. 2 proposes a ‘Neighbourhood Centre’ zoning.
Even within this higher-order zoning, Mayor Mack noted, a 23-storey built form is well beyond what would ordinarily be anticipated for a neighbourhood or local centre context.
“The Town of Cambridge has consistently opposed the scale and intensity of the original approval,” he added.
“In March 2025, the WAPC approved the 23-storey development despite the Town’s strategic planning documents and Council’s clear position. Council resolved to recommend refusal in September 2024 due to the significant departure from the WAPC-endorsed Local Planning Strategy and the impacts on the surrounding residential area.”
The Town also remains concerned with the WAPC’s prolonged use of the Part 17 Significant Development pathway.
“This pathway grants the WAPC broad decision-making powers and allows major applications to bypass local government decision-making. Originally introduced as a temporary COVID-19 stimulus mechanism, it has since been retained, enabling significant developments to proceed without the ordinary checks, balances, and diminishes the role of residents and local businesses,” Mayor Mack stated.
“Part 17 erodes local input and weakens the link between community expectations and statutory decision-making. Local government plays a vital role in place-based planning; communities should not be sidelined from decisions that affect their neighbourhoods and amenity.”
The Town will continue to engage on technical matters within its remit as required, including landscaping, tree protection, civil servicing and waste management.
“We will continue to advocate for planning reform that strengthens accountability, aligns state and local strategy, and provides meaningful opportunities for community participation,” Mayor Mack concluded.