Fremantle Council's Planning Committee has recommended a proposal to redevelop a site at 130 Stirling Highway in North Fremantle be refused.
The Planning Committee's recommendation will now be referred to the Metro Inner-South Joint Development Assessment Panel (JDAP), which has the final say on the proposal.
The plan involves a comprehensive redevelopment of the site to deliver a mixed-use development comprising additions, alterations and restoration of the former Ford Factory, which has more recently been the home of the Matilda Bay Brewery.
It is proposed the heritage buildings will become home to a café/restaurant, food-hall, offices, and a reception centre.
The proposal includes the addition of three residential towers of 20, 15 and 6 storeys in height, comprising 198 multiple dwellings and mixed-use development, as well as landscaping, amenity areas, car parking and public realm.
Fremantle Mayor Hannah Fitzhardinge said that whilst the committee noted high density development would occur on the site, which is zoned R160, it was concerned about several aspects of the current proposal, including height, traffic impacts, heritage and design.
"We know traffic is already a concern for residents in the area," Mayor Fitzhardinge said.
"We need to sit down with the state government, Town of Mosman Park and developers working in the area to find solutions now rather than fixing problems later."
Mayor Fitzhardinge said the Planning Committee considered more than 1000 pages of advice on the proposal including the proponent's reports, independent heritage experts and the City's Design Advisory Committee (DAC).
"The advice of the architecture experts on DAC is for the proposal to retain a greater extent of the heritage buildings on the site and adopt a more sympathetic approach to the adaptive re-use of the existing buildings to maintain their character and integrity," Mayor Fitzhardinge said.
"The DAC also recommended the proponents address the additional bulk and height of the proposal to help manage the impact of excessive overshadowing on neighbouring properties."
