Eight-storey development on harbour foreshore mooted in draft Woolstores Precinct Structure Plan

The community is invited to have a say on the future of Albany’s Woolstores Precinct in a draft structure plan released by the City of Albany. The 85-page plan and a host of attachments have been published on the City’s website this week. Woolstores Place would divide the precinct into two distinct areas — a commercial neighbourhood centre to the northwest and a mixed-use residential zoning to the south. The precinct covers a total area of about 16.4ha, about 70 per cent of which will be available for development. The plan allows for the construction of 215–330 dwellings — which would house 559–858 people — and 1100sqm of retail floorspace. Buildings on the front of the foreshore could be up to eight storeys tall. A coastal hazard risk management plan recommends the construction of a sea wall adjacent to the foreshore to mitigate sea-level rise and storm events. Within the plan, 1.5ha is set aside for public open space, including a 10m wide area fronting the length of the foreshore to the precinct’s south. The planning document also breaks down the visual objectives and design principles for the precinct and how the development would be staged, as well as subdivision and development requirements. A second part of the document adds context to the site plan in relation to the community, legislation and policy, as well as explaining opportunities and constraints, engagement processes, and the design elements. The plan can be found on the public comment section of the City’s website - https://bit.ly/3OMxSyW.