Housing & planning · City of Vincent
27 Mount Hawthorn parking bays face possible redevelopment condition
A proposed condition for 179 Scarborough Beach Road would require future development to retain some public parking, but the number of bays and treatment of two ACROD spaces remain unspecified.
Reporting from public council minutes. How this article was prepared
People using public parking in Mount Hawthorn could see some protection if the City of Vincent’s 179 Scarborough Beach Road site is later redeveloped. A proposed condition would require a purchaser to agree that future development incorporate a minimum number of public bays, with the site’s Lot 3 containing 27 spaces, including two ACROD bays.
The condition was discussed as part of a proposed Expressions of Interest process for the City-owned property, alongside 177 Scarborough Beach Road. Any offer to purchase, lease or redevelop 179 Scarborough Beach Road would be presented to Council for consideration, according to the briefing notes.
Administration told councillors that a deed of covenant attached to a sale contract could set out the parking requirement and allow the City to register a caveat on the title. A future development application would then assess the prescribed requirements and could include conditions of approval.
That protection could limit the site’s future use and affect its attractiveness to buyers, the notes say. A title caveat could also create financing challenges for an owner. The record does not quantify the effect on the site’s value or specify how many bays would have to remain public.
Lot 109 contains another 15 spaces. The briefing notes say parking surveys recorded vehicles at set times but did not establish whether spaces were being used by workers, short-term customers or for other purposes. Oxford Street and Flinders Street car parks were reported to have average occupancies of 51 per cent and 42 per cent respectively in the cited 2025 period.
The supplied briefing record contains an earlier recommendation about disposing of 179 Scarborough Beach Road and appointing an agent, followed by an administration note revising the requested action towards seeking Expressions of Interest. It does not record a final resolution or vote on the process, so the parking requirement remains a proposal rather than an adopted condition.
What deserves a closer look
The briefing notes contain an earlier disposal recommendation and a later administration note revising the requested action towards an Expressions of Interest process.
The proposed parking condition does not state the minimum number of bays to be retained or require that both ACROD bays remain available.
The record describes possible commercial and financing effects of the condition but does not quantify them.
Questions for follow-up reporting
Was the revised Expressions of Interest process later adopted, and on what terms?
What minimum number of public bays would the proposed condition require?
Would the two ACROD bays have to be retained within any future development?
Would any deed of covenant or title caveat bind subsequent owners?
What happens next
If Council approves the revised proposal, an agent would be appointed to seek Expressions of Interest for redevelopment of 179 Scarborough Beach Road in connection with adjoining 177 Scarborough Beach Road, with any proposed purchase, lease or redevelopment offers to be presented to Council for consideration.
Check the record
These passages were matched to the source text. Read them in context in the original minutes.
The updated recommendation proposed requiring a purchaser to agree that any future development incorporate a minimum number of bays for continued public parking, to the City's satisfaction.
MAYOR XAMON: Can you be quite prescriptive about what options, if the sale were to proceed, would be available to compel that public parking to still be made available? EXECUTIVE MANAGER CORPORATE STRATEGY & GOVERNANCE: The recommendation has been updated at 1.1.1 to include the following condition: 1.1.1 The purchaser agreeing that any future development must incorporate a minimum number of parking bays for continued use as public parking to the City's satisfaction.
Item 8.3
Open original minutes ↗Lot 3 contains 27 parking spaces, including two ACROD bays, and Lot 109 contains 15 more.
Lot 3 specifically contains 27 parking spaces including two ACROD bays with the remaining 15 located on Lot 109. Any future sale should consider a condition that requires retention of a minimum number of public parking spaces within any future development.
Item 8.3
Open original minutes ↗A deed of covenant and title caveat were discussed as possible mechanisms, with possible effects on price and finance.
What options would we have to actually protect that need? Could we get more information on what can Council do that would be binding on the DAP, for example? EXECUTIVE MANAGER CORPORATE STRATEGY & GOVERNANCE: There is the opportunity to include conditions to the offer by way of a deed of covenant to be attached to the contract for sale of land. This would enable the City to register a caveat on the title. These conditions would offer some surety around the future development of the land being required to provide a minimum number of public parking bays. A deed of covenant would need to be specific and clear about the desired future outcome on the land. A future development application would assess the prescribed requirements and secure the City's interests by conditions of approval. It must be noted that in doing that, it would affect obtaining the highest purchase price as this would limit the future potential of the site. A caveat on the title may also present challenges for owners when seeking finance.
Item 8.3
Open original minutes ↗Administration revised the requested action towards appointing an agent to seek Expressions of Interest for redevelopment of 179 Scarborough Beach Road in connection with adjoining 177 Scarborough Beach Road, with proposed purchase, lease or redevelopment offers to be presented to Council.
ADMINISTRATION NOTE: Administration has revised the officer report and recommendation following the Council Briefing to more accurately reflect what is being requested of Council. To appoint an agent to seek Expressions of Interest for the redevelopment of No,179 Scarborough Beach Road Mount Hawthorn in connection with the adjoining property No.177 Scarborough beach road, Mount Hawthorn which is currently set for sale. The Local Government Act 1995 at section 3.58 defines 'Dispose' as to sell, lease or otherwise dispose of, whether absolutely or not consequently, this language is used throughout the report for accuracy and reflects a range of scenarios that may arise from an EOI process. Any proposed offers for purchase, lease or redevelopment of the site would be presented to Council for consideration. CR CASTLE: Could the subject site be converted to a park given the report mentions there's a gap in POS within the area?
Item 8.3
Open original minutes ↗The effect of sale conditions on the sale could not be quantified; land without conditions was described as likely to be more attractive than land with conditions limiting its use and development.
There is no way to quantify the impact of including such conditions on the sale of the land, however anecdotally a sale of land that contains no conditions would likely be more attractive than that which includes conditions that limit the use and development of the land.
Item 8.3
Open original minutes ↗Oxford Street and Flinders Street car parks were reported to have average occupancies of 51 per cent and 42 per cent respectively in May/April 2025.
EXECUTIVE MANAGER CORPORATE STRATEGY & GOVERNANCE: The Oxford Street car park contains a total of 32 bays with 3 hour free parking between 8am-5pm, the average occupancy of this car park in May/April 2025 was 51%. The Flinders Street car park contains 28 bays with 3 hour free parking between 8am-5pm, the average occupancy of this car park in May/April 2025 was 42%. These figures indicate that within the existing surrounding car parks there would be capacity to absorb parking demand.
Item 8.3
Open original minutes ↗Parking surveys captured vehicles at set times across the day but did not engage with motorists to establish their parking purpose.
Do we have any of that data? EXECUTIVE MANAGER INFRASTRUCTURE & ENVIRONMENT: We do not have this level of detail. Parking surveys were conducted during a prescribed period of time and capture vehicles in situ at set times across the day. The survey does not engage with motorists to understand their parking purpose. CR GREER: The community has identified that need around public open space in the town centre, but I'm conscious that that feedback wasn't sought in the very particular context of the potential loss of these bays.
Item 8.3
Open original minutes ↗Source record
Reporting from the City of Vincent’s council briefing notes for 8 September 2026.
Key facts from the minutes
- The City’s 8 September 2026 briefing record proposed requiring a purchaser of 179 Scarborough Beach Road to agree that future development incorporate a minimum number of public parking bays to the City’s satisfaction.
- Lot 3 was recorded as having 27 parking spaces, including two ACROD bays; Lot 109 was recorded as having 15 additional spaces.
- A deed of covenant and title caveat were identified as possible mechanisms for protecting the parking requirement.
- Any proposed purchase, lease or redevelopment offer arising from an Expressions of Interest process would return to Council for consideration.
- The briefing notes do not record a final resolution or vote on the disposal process.
Why it matters
- A future redevelopment could change access to public parking in the Mount Hawthorn town centre, including two existing ACROD bays. The proposed protection has not been finalised, and the record does not state how many spaces would have to remain available.