The Town of Cottesloe has voted not to support the proposed redevelopment of Cottesloe’s Indiana Teahouse in its current form following a behind closed door council meeting last night.
It’s been more than two-and-a-half years since Andrew and Nicola Forrest’s property company Fiveight presented the latest iteration of its 2019 plan to refurbish the beachfront site with fine dining, a rooftop pool, an underground spa and a 31-room boutique hotel.
A render of a new design for the redevelopment of the Indiana Teahouse in Cottesloe.Credit: Tattarang
After the council again decided to stall any redevelopment, Fiveight chief executive Paige Walker said she was incredibly disappointed the town had suddenly changed the development parameters without consultation.
“We submitted our plans 935 days ago to council, and we’ve been very cooperative with them through this process,” she said.
“We’ve issued over 300 pages of additional information to council to answer a number of questions that they’ve asked us. And we’ve held over 50 meetings with council to try to progress this proposal.
“In November last year we were advised we had provided all the information they needed for a decision.
“At the end of the day, we just want a better beachfront for all West Australians. They deserve better amenity, change rooms, surf club facilities and accessibility at Perth’s postcard beach.
“We now need to work through the information and decide our next steps.”
The council said it supported redevelopment of the Teahouse, but that there was uncertainty around the financial impacts of the proposed design and the community benefits it would offer.