Oh what a feeling: Toyota Autoparts distribution centre in Kewdale approved by State planners

A massive Toyota Autoparts distribution centre will be built along Miles Road within Kewdale’s Industrial area. Metro Inner-South Joint Development Assessment panel members unanimously approved the plans put forward by landowner Perron Investments Pty Ltd on Monday to build a 20,292 square metre logistics centre at 33 Miles Road in Kewdale. The single-storey centre will also include a two-storey office and administration area with an upper-level alfresco space and landscaping along the Miles Road and Kewdale Road frontages. JDAP member Belmont mayor Phil Marks said Toyota already had a “magnificent” car dealership along Miles Road. “I can’t see anything wrong with this (development) - I’m happy with what I’ve read and I think we should be voting for this,” he said. City of Belmont officer Brandon Pang said the only issue was the development’s car parking variation but it was “quite common” for a warehouse of this size. Under the city’s Local Planning Scheme, the development requires 254 car parking bays on its floor area but only 76 car bays are being provided for staff and visitors on site. Mr Pang said there would only be a maximum of 59 staff and 20 visitors on site on a quarterly basis. “As this is a distribution centre it’s not open to the public so visitors attending the site are strictly Toyota representatives,” he said. “Whilst there is a maximum of 79 people on site as a worst case scenario, we consider that to be sufficient because it’s highly unlikely the 20 visitors will visit individually with one person per car arrangements — it’s likely they would carpool.” A total of 25 commercial vehicle and truck loading bays will also be built. A city report said the logistics centre would offer a valuable facility to “bolster” Kewdale’s function as a hub for industrial activities within the state. “The proposed traffic generation can be accommodated within the capacity of the existing road network,” the report said. “The proposed configuration of the site, including the location of vehicular access and parking is consistent with the surrounding area.”