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, on the condition that the applicant submit a traffic treatment plan. That vote was a recommendation, not the final decision. The state-level panel makes the development determination. The City’s planning register later lists several approvals tied to the site, but those entries record planning decisions only. They do not show whether the development has been built or has opened.
What the council actually voted on
According to PerthNow’s February 2023 report, councillors voted 9–4 to recommend approval subject to the traffic treatment plan. The council’s role in this process was advisory. The application was determined by the independent panel, which the City’s register identifies as the DAP.
The vote therefore moved the application forward to the panel rather than settling it. Any reader looking for the point at which the project was legally cleared should look at the panel’s determinations, not the council vote.
What the proposal covers
The City’s 2022 consultation page describes amended plans that combine 80 Stirling Highway with 2, 4 and 6 Florence Road and 7 and 9 Stanley Street. The proposal as described in that consultation material includes:
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- A supermarket, with the Woolworths operation at the centre of the application
- 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 site. The plans also showed a possible residential component. The City stated that these residential plans were indicative only, were not part of the current application, and would need a separate planning application. Housing on the site should not be described as approved under this proposal.
The Captain Stirling Hotel
The hotel was to be retained and receive works rather than be demolished. The DAP meeting agenda identifies the hotel as State Heritage-listed, which is why heritage was one of the issues the panel asked the applicant to address before it could decide. Readers should check the current heritage status and any conditions attached to the hotel works with the Heritage Council and the City, as the sources reviewed here do not set out the conditions in detail.
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Traffic and access changes
Traffic and access were the most contested technical issues in the application. The amended plans, as described in the City’s 2022 consultation material, include these access changes:
- No right turn out of Stanley Street onto Stirling Highway
- Left-in and left-out only at the Florence Road intersection with Stirling Highway
- Left-in and left-out only at the Boronia Avenue intersection with Stirling Highway
- A publicly accessible rear laneway through the site
The traffic treatment plan that the council made a condition of its recommendation is the document meant to address these movements. Its contents are not part of the public record summarised in the sources reviewed.
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How the application reached a council recommendation
The application has been in the planning system for several years. The timeline below draws on the City’s own records and the reporting cited for each date.
| Date | Event | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 9 August 2019 | City receives the original application for a supermarket and other retail, food and beverage, medical, gym, hotel, parking and landscaping works | City of Nedlands planning records |
| 29 June 2020 | JDAP defers its determination for up to 90 days, citing the need for greater certainty on traffic, transport and access, further heritage information, and better integration with the Nedlands Town Centre | City of Nedlands planning records |
| 21 July 2020 | An application for review is lodged with the State Administrative Tribunal; the City’s timeline records mediation in October and December 2020 | City of Nedlands planning records |
| 2022 | Amended plans are 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 | The register lists a Form 1 shopping-centre application for the site as approved by the DAP | City of Nedlands planning register |
| 9 May 2024 | The register lists a Form 2 application for Captain Stirling Shopping Centre (Woolworths) as approved | City of Nedlands planning register |
| 27 March 2025 | The register lists a Form 2 application for Nedlands Square Shopping Centre as approved | City of Nedlands planning register |
The 2020 deferral is the reason the application went through a second round of planning work before the council was asked to comment on the amended scheme. The 2024 and 2025 register entries are later determinations on related applications for the same site, and the register does not describe their scope in the detail needed to tell whether each one changes the 2023 proposal.
Car-bay figures across plan versions
Two parking figures appear in reporting on this project, and they belong to different plan versions. They should not be merged.
| Figure | Plan version it describes | Source and date |
|---|---|---|
| 382 car bays | The version covered by the February 2023 article | PerthNow, 2023 |
| 419 car bays | The latest development application as of February 2025 | City of Nedlands feasibility report, 2025 |
The 2025 feasibility report treats 419 bays as a later plan-version figure rather than a correction to the 2023 report. The sources reviewed do not explain the difference between the two plans in detail.
Best Value
The cost figure
PerthNow’s 2023 report described the proposed development as a $25 million project. That is the figure reported at the time of the council vote for the version then before the council. It is not a current project budget, and it should not be used to estimate costs for the later plan versions.
What the council debate reflected
PerthNow reported a City staff assessment describing the proposal as “of a scale and use consistent with the expected pattern of development and the significance of the town centre site.” The report presented this as the City’s assessment rather than a direct quotation from an individually named officer.
Councillor Noel Youngman, as quoted by PerthNow, described the decision in the following terms: “50 to 75-year decision.” The remark points to the long-term consequences councillors attached to a town-centre development of this size.
What the records confirm and what they do not
- Confirmed: council recommended approval subject to a traffic treatment plan, and the DAP is the body that determines the application.
- Confirmed in the City’s register: approvals recorded on 10 February 2023, 9 May 2024 and 27 March 2025 for applications linked to the site.
- Not established by the records reviewed: whether construction has started or finished, whether the supermarket or other tenancies are open, and whether the traffic treatment plan has been accepted.
Readers who need the current status should check the City of Nedlands planning register for later determinations and any building permits, and contact the City directly for the status of the traffic treatment plan.
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One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchThe planning register records approvals, not completion or opening. Any statement about construction or trading should come from a current primary source, such as the City, the developer, or the panel’s published decisions.
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