Scarborough Fair Markets

The backlash

The project instantly divided opinion. Supporters argued Scarborough needed bold development, more tourism and more density if it wanted to become a major coastal destination. Business owners largely backed it, saying it would bring jobs, investment and more people into the area year-round.

 

Opponents saw it very differently. Community campaign group “Sunsets Not Skyscrapers” formed specifically to fight the project, arguing the towers would permanently alter Scarborough’s coastal character and turn the area into a mini Gold Coast. Concerns were raised about traffic, overshadowing, wind impacts, parking, congestion and whether the planning framework meant anything if developments could massively exceed the stated height limits anyway.

 

The Metropolitan Redevelopment Authority rejected the original proposal in December 2017, describing it as a significant overdevelopment with serious traffic impacts. But the project didn’t end there.

 

A revised version was later submitted with reduced apartment numbers, slimmer towers, fewer hotel rooms and reduced parking at a cost of $250 million.

 

In June 2018, the MRA approved the revised proposal anyway, allowing towers of 43 and 33 storeys. That approval triggered even more backlash. Critics accused the process of lacking transparency and questioned how a project rejected months earlier as an excessive overdevelopment was suddenly approved after mediation processes involving government-appointed panels and a newly restructured MRA board. Questions were also raised over planning discretion, industry influence and political connections surrounding the approval process.

 

Meanwhile supporters argued the revised project would create jobs, tourism, public facilities and major investment at a time when WA’s economy needed it.

 

Demolition of the old Scarborough Markets buildings began in late 2018. The site was cleared and construction was expected to begin not long after. Except it never did.

 

Stalling the towers

In 2019, 3 Oceans announced the project was on hold after a review found it was no longer financially viable in the current market. Apartment numbers had already been reduced significantly and questions were being raised about whether a project of that scale was ever realistically achievable in Perth.

 

From there the whole thing became a cycle of redesigns, revised concepts and further controversy.

 

Windsurfer, Surfer and Skater towers

One later proposal included three towers called the Windsurfer, Surfer and Skater towers together with a 140-seat indoor theatre, coworking spaces, artist studios, outdoor amphitheatre, cafes and restaurants. The tallest tower still reached 43 storeys and would have become one of the tallest buildings outside the Perth CBD.

 

Opposition groups continued campaigning against the scale of the proposals, arguing Scarborough’s planning framework was effectively being ignored.

 

By 2022, the revised three-tower proposal had also been scrapped. The developer admitted community concerns over height and bulk were a major factor. The original approvals eventually expired without construction ever starting.