Council gives Aldi go-ahead for West Street

City of Busselton councillors have approved a proposal to build an Aldi supermarket on West Street, despite opposition from the chairman of the WA Planning Commission.

Councillors received a letter from WAPC chairman Eric Lumsden reminding councillors of the commission’s previous rejection of bids for a zoning change to allow for a supermarket at the location.

The proposal was approved at Wednesday night’s council meeting 7-2, a change from the 5-4 vote against the same proposal in February, which followed concerns the move would fragment the CBD.

The State Administrative Tribunal invited councillors to reconsider their vote after Aldi appealed the decision.

Cr John McCallum moved to refuse the application again, saying it had the potential to destroy the CBD.

Cr Ross Paine seconded Cr McCallum’s motion, saying the development would go against the vision for the city in the Strategic Community Plan.

“Approving a supermarket in this location, and fragmenting the CBD, would put us further from our stated goals,” he said.

Cr Rob Bennett moved to approve the proposal and said councillors needed to respect ratepayers and give them as many options as possible, which was seconded by Cr Gordon Bleechmore, who said he believed it was a second chance for the council to get the decision right.

“We need to have vision and take into account projections for population growth, and I think West Street gives us that vision,” he said.

Cr McCallum told councillors they had made the wrong decision.

“It’s a very sad night,” he said.

“Mark my words, you will see the CBD die before your eyes in the next five years.”

WAPC chairman Eric Lumsden responded toTimes inquiries'''' yesterday and said the decision rested with the City and the SAT.

“The Department of Planning on behalf of the Western Australian Planning Commission will continue to work with the City on its local planning strategy and scheme to ensure appropriate planning outcomes for commercial development in the city,” he said.

Small business owner Bob Lloyd told theTimes he believed council had ignored the 200 ratepayers who had written a letter of support of their decision to reject the proposal in February.

Mr Lloyd said he, along with other small businesses, were not going to stop and would not accept the result.

“I think council made a mistake approving this, because the development won’t stop and it will open the door to another shopping centre, which will fragment the CBD and destroy small businesses,” he said.

Proponent for Aldi, Planning Solutions senior planner Ross Underwood, said he was pleased with the outcome.

“Erceg Management is proud to be able to host Aldi in Busselton, and we are pleased with the outcome of the council decision,” he said.

“Erceg Management is negotiating with several exciting new traders which are for the Busselton Power Centre.”

Mr Underwood said, construction for both Kmart and Aldi at lot 17 West Street is expected to begin in the coming weeks, with trading expected for late 2017.