Longpoint Brewing sent back to drawing board on $13m Kennedy Bay tavern plan over parking

A development panel has knocked back plans for a $13 million two-storey brewpub, tavern and accommodation at the new Kennedy Bay housing development. Longpoint Brewing has 180 days to get permission from the WA Planning Commission to share a carpark with nearby golf course Links Kennedy Bay to make up for a parking shortfall. Its plans were backed unanimously by the City of Rockingham council at its May 28 meeting. They showed a multi-million dollar tavern development with a main dining space, central bar, garden bar, beer garden, coffee kiosk and upper-level function space with bar and veranda. There will be ocean views from the tavern, which will be licensed for 500 patrons. The plans were meticulously pored over at a marathon 90-minute Metro Outer Development Assessment Panel meeting on Wednesday. Two bones of contention included the parking shortfall and a requirement for the developers to provide $65,000 worth of public art. The plans provided 45 carparking bays at the tavern but left a shortfall of 85 bays, instead relying on public parking, on-street parking and 48 bays that were surplus at Links Kennedy Bay golf course, which is in walking distance. The course has a total of 148 car parking bays, which are managed by the WA Planning Commission. City of Rockingham town planner Michael Ross revealed there would be a heavy reliance on cars by tavern patrons when it opened. “People will travel here by car; there is currently no public transport but there will be in the future, so for the moment there will be reliance on cars and there will not be sufficient parking provided for the development to work,” he said. Specialist panel member John Syme said reliance on golf club parking was “unsafe”. “The access to those 48 bays is critical to this development,” he said. Mr Syme proposed the application be deferred until an agreement was made with the WA Planning Commission for shared use of the carpark. The majority of panel members agreed and Longpoint Brewing was given until December to procure this agreement. Earlier in the meeting, Longpoint Brewing representative Adrian Dhue requested a public art requirement be removed from the planning conditions. It was revealed that Wormall Group had joined with WA BGR group as joint venture entity Longpoint Brewing to build the tavern. As the landowner, WA BGR group had already invested funds into the Kennedy Bay development. “We don’t think it’s fair to constrain the landowner who has already committed a significant amount of money to the delivery of public art in this precinct,” Mr Dhue argued. “The purpose of public art in our view is to improve streetscape and improve the amenity of the area which is being delivered.” City officers had concerns about the public art requirement being deleted from the planning documents as it could set a precedent in the future. But the panel agreed that on this one occasion, due to the WA BGR group’s previous investment, the requirement could be amended.