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Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →In February 2023, City of Nedlands councillors voted 9–4 to recommend that the Joint Development Assessment Panel (JDAP) approve Woolworths’ proposed Captain Stirling precinct, provided the applicant submitted a traffic treatment plan. The council vote was a recommendation, not the final decision. The independent JDAP makes the development determination. The City’s published application register later lists approvals for several applications connected to the site, but those records confirm planning approvals only. They do not show that construction has finished or that the centre has opened.
What the council actually decided
The vote, as reported by PerthNow on 1 February 2023, backed approval of the precinct subject to one condition: a traffic treatment plan. Councillors did not approve the development themselves. In the Western Australian planning system used here, a local government can recommend, but the JDAP holds the authority to determine applications of this kind.
What the proposal included
The City’s 2022 consultation material describes amended plans that combined four lots at 80 Stirling Highway with 2, 4 and 6 Florence Road and 7 and 9 Stanley Street. The proposed uses were:
- A supermarket operated by Woolworths
- Specialty shops
- A medical centre
- A restaurant or café
- A small liquor store
- A private gym
- Seven offices
- Works to the existing Captain Stirling Hotel
- A publicly accessible rear laneway
Four existing houses were proposed for demolition to make way for the precinct.
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Residential plans were indicative only
Some plan drawings showed a possible residential component. The City stated that these residential plans were indicative, were not part of the application under consideration, and would need a separate planning application. Housing should not be read as approved under this proposal.
Road access and traffic changes
Traffic and access were the most contested technical issues. The amended proposal included these access changes:
- No right turn out of Stanley Street onto Stirling Highway.
- Left-in, left-out only at the Florence Road intersection with Stirling Highway.
- Left-in, left-out only at the Boronia Avenue intersection with Stirling Highway.
- A rear laneway open to the public, providing an alternative route through the site.
The JDAP’s 2020 deferral cited the need for greater certainty on traffic, transport and access. That concern is the reason the traffic treatment plan became a condition of the council’s recommendation.
The Captain Stirling Hotel
The hotel was to be retained, with works carried out to the existing building rather than demolition. The JDAP agenda identifies the hotel as State Heritage-listed, which is why the 2020 deferral also asked for further heritage information. Readers should check the heritage conditions and any approved works against the JDAP decision documents, because the consultation material does not set them out in full.
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How the application reached this point
The application has been through several stages, including a state tribunal review. The dates below come from the City’s records and the press reporting cited.
| Date | Event | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 9 August 2019 | City receives the original application for a supermarket, other retail, food and beverage, medical, gym, hotel, parking and landscaping works | City of Nedlands records |
| 29 June 2020 | JDAP defers its determination for up to 90 days, citing traffic, transport and access, heritage information, and integration with the Nedlands Town Centre | City of Nedlands records |
| 21 July 2020 | Application for review lodged with the State Administrative Tribunal; mediation recorded in October and December 2020 | City of Nedlands records |
| 2022 | Amended plans submitted and advertised; submissions close on 9 December 2022 | City of Nedlands consultation page |
| 1 February 2023 | Councillors vote 9–4 to recommend approval subject to a traffic treatment plan | PerthNow report |
| 10 February 2023 | Site’s Form 1 shopping-centre application listed as approved by the DAP | City of Nedlands application register |
| 9 May 2024 | Form 2 application for Captain Stirling Shopping Centre (Woolworths) listed as approved | City of Nedlands application register |
| 27 March 2025 | Form 2 application for Nedlands Square Shopping Centre listed as approved | City of Nedlands application register |
The register lists the 2024 and 2025 Form 2 approvals without describing their scope. The records reviewed do not spell out how the Nedlands Square Shopping Centre listing relates to the Captain Stirling site, so do not assume the two are the same project.
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Who makes the decision
The City of Nedlands prepares the assessment and reports to the decision-maker. Council’s vote on 1 February 2023 was a recommendation. The DAP, which is independent of council, then recorded the approval listed on 10 February 2023. Anyone following this project should look to the DAP’s decision for the binding outcome and its conditions.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Figures and why they differ
Two car-parking figures appear in the reporting, and they belong to different plan versions. They should not be treated as a correction of one another.
| Figure | Value | Source and date | Plan version it describes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Car bays | 382 | PerthNow, 2023 | The version covered by the February 2023 article |
| Car bays | 419 | City of Nedlands feasibility report, 2025 | Based on the latest development application as of February 2025 |
The reported project cost of $25 million comes from PerthNow’s 2023 coverage. It is a figure for the proposal as described then, not a current budget for the project, and the records reviewed do not confirm a more recent cost.
What officials and councillors said
PerthNow reported City staff assessing the proposal as “of a scale and use consistent with the expected pattern of development and the significance of the town centre site.” This is the newspaper’s paraphrase of the staff assessment, not a direct quotation from a named officer.
Councillor Noel Youngman, as reported by PerthNow, described the decision as a “50 to 75-year decision,” pointing to the long life a town centre development is expected to have.
What the records do not confirm
- Construction status: the approvals listed do not show whether building work has started or finished.
- Opening: nothing in the records reviewed confirms that the supermarket or other tenancies are trading.
- Final design: the 382 and 419 car-bay figures come from different plan versions, so the current layout should be checked against the most recent approved plans.
- Housing: any residential component would need its own application.
To confirm any of these points, check the City of Nedlands application register for the latest approvals and building permits, and the JDAP’s published decisions for the conditions attached to the development approval.
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