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1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsMetro Inner Development Assessment Panel (DAP) unanimously approved the latest Spicer site proposal at 10 Henderson Street, Fremantle, on 4 November 2025. The plan is for a six-storey, 150-key hotel and three ground-floor commercial tenancies. PerthNow reported a $50 million development value; the official planning file confirms the proposal details but does not independently verify that estimate.
What did the panel approve?
The decision concerned planning application DAP/25/02940, lodged by Spicer Street Pty Ltd for Lots 374 and 375 at 10 Henderson Street. PerthNow reported the vote as 5–0; Invest Fremantle, the City of Fremantle’s investment agency, described it as unanimous. This was a decision by the state development assessment panel, not a vote at an ordinary Fremantle council meeting.
The application material describes a 150-room hotel, three ground-floor commercial tenancies and public-realm works. The finer design and use details below come from the applicant’s submission to the panel and describe the proposal, not necessarily final operating arrangements.
What is planned for the site?
Hotel and commercial uses
The proposed hotel has six storeys, a ground-floor lobby and forecourt, and a first-floor pool, landscaped terrace and guest gym. The submission describes a restaurant and separate lounge, alongside three commercial tenancies facing the proposed Spicer Lane. Potential tenancy uses include a shop, restaurant, café or small bar.
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Pedestrian links and service access
The design proposes a landscaped pedestrian link called Spicer Lane between Henderson Street and Paddy Troy Mall. It also proposes restoring the northern portion of Paddy Troy Mall as a publicly accessible service lane. The applicant says pedestrians could enter from Henderson Street, William Street and Spicer Lane, while a loading bay would be accessed via Paddy Troy Mall.
The submission says work in adjacent road reserves would require separate City approval and agreement. The panel’s hotel-development approval should not be read as approval of every proposed street or road-reserve change.
How would visitors and staff get there?
The submitted scheme has no on-site car parking. The applicant proposed two pick-up and drop-off bays in the Henderson Street road reserve, 13 visitor bicycle racks and seven secure staff bicycle racks with end-of-trip facilities. The bays are proposals in the application material, not on-site parking spaces.
PerthNow reported that some consultation submissions objected to the lack of parking. The same report said concerns were raised about the project’s height and the possibility that hotel guests beside an established music venue could generate complaints or affect the area’s live-music character. Those are submitters’ concerns, not established effects of the development.
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- Book Format: Hardcover
- Size: 288mm x 250mm
- Page Count: 292
- Illustrations: 300
- Publisher: Monacelli
Why was the additional height accepted?
PerthNow reported that DAP presiding member Dale Page said the panel had discretion to approve the additional height and that it would cause “no undue impact” on the surrounding area. She also described the proposal as a “very high quality” proposal for a site that needed development, and called it a “transformational development.”
Invest Fremantle’s account emphasizes the scheme’s active ground floor, publicly accessible space and response to Fremantle’s heritage setting. These are the City agency’s stated planning rationale and framing, not measured forecasts of economic or tourism outcomes.
What did public consultation show?
PerthNow reported 19 submissions during consultation: 14 opposed the changes and five supported them. These figures describe the submissions reported by the publication; they are not a poll of Fremantle residents as a whole. The reported objections included height, parking and the relationship between hotel use and nearby live music.
What does the $50 million figure mean?
PerthNow reported the project value as $50 million in its November 2025 coverage. The planning file supports the application description but does not independently substantiate that figure, so it is best treated as a reported development value—not a verified construction budget.
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What is known about the site’s history and the earlier design?
The applicant’s submission says the original Spicers Building had been entirely demolished by 1970, while a later warehouse incorporated a remnant limestone wall. It says the wall’s removal was approved in 2022 and that materials were stored for incorporation into the current proposal. This is the applicant’s account of the site history. PerthNow reported that the latest design improved on an earlier approved design in scale and presentation.
Has construction started, or is the hotel open?
The approval and proposal details are documented in the available planning and City material, but those sources do not establish whether construction has begun, when the hotel might open, or whether bookings are available. Approval alone does not confirm a construction start or opening date.
Quick Recap
Sources
- Invest Fremantle, “Approval Granted for Hotel Development at the Spicer Site in Fremantle,” 8 December 2025.
- Western Australian planning file, Related Information No. 104, Part D – City of Fremantle; applicant submission dated 31 October 2025.
- Michael Palmer, PerthNow, “Unanimous approval for Andrew Forrest’s $50 million Spicer development in Fremantle,” 13 November 2025.
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