Bring back the setback: Perth dead zones a planning fail, says expert

But no – I’m definitely on Newcastle Street, Northbridge. It’s only 500 metres from the Perth Cultural Centre, the city’s heart, but from here you can’t hear it beating.

I can’t hear anything but the odd car, actually; mostly empty offices overlook mostly empty footpaths. Even the occupied tenancies are tightly shuttered or glazed to prevent the workers inside from the indignity of any stray pedestrians chancing to look in.

How did this happen across Perth? Because it’s certainly not just Northbridge. You have probably noticed numerous similar examples of inner suburban streetfronts, where cold windows overlook deserted footpaths, in both recent and not so recent redevelopments.

It happened because of state and local government planning controls, and the decisions in how they’re applied. And a leader at one of Perth’s most prominent planning firms says the city has gone too far in bringing big buildings right up to footpaths and a course-correction is needed to enliven our streets.

Hatch Roberts Day consults with local and state government and the private sector to advise on planning policy.

Principal Peter Ciemetis says increasing zero-setback areas (meaning a building is not “set back” from the footpath) in Perth’s redevelopment zones in recent history was part of an aim to bring ground-floor businesses to the street, to create a relationship.

“You think of any great city of the world with residents and shops up on the street and you are activating that street edge, with active windows and people walking in and out and alfresco areas,” Ciemetis said.

“It hasn’t turned out the way we’d hoped.

“As urban designers we have to fess up to still having our learnings about that approach.”

When it’s a shop or cafe facing a thirsty walker with money to burn, that relationship is a good one.

When it’s a private office and a stray gawker, not so much.

Ciemetis said around 25-30 years ago when state governments were preparing the then-new planning policy called Liveable Neighbourhoods, one of the key elements was to try to move away from commercial and office buildings being “pushed back from the road with a sea of car parking out the front”.

One of the early policy elements had been, therefore, to try to bring buildings up to the street.

But across the board planners tended to overestimate how much retail was going to happen.

The street quickly started running into offices, fitness and medical centres.

“Those are the ones not interested in people looking through the windows,” Ciemetis said.

“And apartments – literally no one wants you looking in through the window.”

He said Perth’s population could only support so many shops and cafes.

As well as the Newcastle Street section between Stirling Street and Lord Street, Ciemetis mentioned the footpaths along Norfolk Street, Fremantle around the Luna Cinemas with developments right on the street as “not an enticing area”.

By contrast, the area around the Queens on Beaufort Street and Harold Street in Mount Lawley had been better managed and remained a vibrant, walkable area.

Centro Avenue Subiaco, which was mixed use on either side, mostly offices, didn’t have deeper setbacks but did have better amenity through a wider street, plenty of trees, and generous footpaths.

Ciemetis said it was time for Perth to bring back the nuance.

Shops and retail should still be built up to the footpath, but offices and medical centres really needed three or four metres from the property line.

Apartments might be pushed back 4-6 metres, have a foyer and landscaping and even more importantly more trees.

“That’s a typology that really works so well,” he said.

“But we have all seen apartments, apart from in the CBD, pushed up to the street and the edge feels dead and they are not places people want to be.

“We need to get more sophisticated with how we use setbacks and not have one size fits all.”

He said the cities of South Perth and Melville were starting to incorporate those nuanced requirements into new activity centre policies for South Perth and Canning Bridge.

He urged other authorities considering developments generally and in areas such as Nedlands, Subi East, North Perth, Victoria Park, Highgate and Leederville to think carefully about setbacks.

Ciemitis said it was a misconception that increasing setbacks diminished the viability of a development, that it was plot ratio that controlled viability.

“[Talk about bad outcomes] is not lost on the planning fraternity,” Ciemitis said.

“We are putting our minds to how some of those issues can be resolved in the future.”