Joondalup council to decide Bar Ole's Iluka storage shed on 24 Nov

PerthNow reported that Bar Ole applied in April 2025 for an alfresco addition plus retrospective approval of the storage area. The city knocked it back, saying it clashed with the suburb’s structure plan, would hurt adjoining residents and did not show parking demand could be met. After an appeal, SAT asked the council to look again once the proposal was amended, and the council refused again in July.

The new application drops the alfresco and asks only for the storage area. City officers recommend approval, saying the changes answer the earlier refusal reasons and the applicant has explained satisfactorily how the area would run.

The numbers

According to PerthNow, the storage area sits in the shopping centre carpark and has made two parking bays unusable. Consultancy costs tied to the application have reached $13,200. A further $18,000 could be at stake if the council refuses and the matter returns to SAT, and that amount is not accounted for in this year’s budget.

The officer report says an updated acoustic assessment confirms the area is intended for empty kegs and delivery crates awaiting collection by suppliers. Marlaine Lavery, the city’s director of planning, growth and regulatory services, told councillors the revised proposal differs materially from the original. Storage is now restricted to empty kegs and delivery crates, and waste, bottles and food waste are expressly banned. Other controls cover staff access, collection times and noise measures such as soft-close gates, rubber matting, stoppers and screening.

Earlier this year, the city received a resident complaint with photographs allegedly showing the storage area being used for waste and bottles, PerthNow reported.

What’s next

Adjoining resident Jim Murphy told the briefing that Bar Ole should have thought about its storage needs before buying the premises, and that a designated storage area already exists at the centre. He said the structure is visible from his apartment building and called for it to be dismantled if building without prior approval is not acceptable.

Cr Bettina Gould asked whether planning approval and compliance enforcement were separate matters. Ms Lavery said they were “two separate matters”, adding that the city cannot recommend refusal on an assumption that an operator will breach its conditions. She said the city cannot act on compliance until SAT finishes, which is why the structure remains.

Cr Rohan O’Neill said he intends to put an alternative motion at the next council meeting: conditional approval for 12 months, then an inspection. Asked about breaches, Ms Lavery said the operator would first be told to fix the problem and given time, then re-inspected, with an infringement the final step. She said the city does not normally revoke a permission over non-compliance.

If the council refuses, the matter could return to SAT, which could back the refusal or approve the storage area, with or without conditions. The council decides on 24 November.

Sources

• PerthNow report on the Iluka storage area

Source: PerthNow.

More from the desk: another Perth council refusal heading back to SAT.