TWO years after a controversial 24/7 petrol station was proposed for a derelict corner block on Angove Street, North Perth residents are still saying it stinks—literally.
The site at 41–45 Angove Street, once a humble mechanical workshop, is now festooned with old socks—part of a grassroots “dirty socks” campaign launched by locals opposed to the proposal.
OTR Pty Ltd, recently acquired by $4.8 billion energy giant Viva Energy, has twice been knocked back—first by the City of Vincent and then by the Metro Inner-North Joint Development Assessment Panel in May 2023 and again in 2024. The company has now taken its case to the State Administrative Tribunal, with a hearing expected in July.
Community opposition has been fierce and consistent, with concerns ranging from noise and traffic to serious health impacts.
• Residents have festooned the site with socks.
Nightmare
“It’s pretty much a nightmare scenario for us, and we think the community deserves better,” local resident Sally Baker said.
“No matter what mitigations and faux assurances the developers give, it is still a 24 hour, 7 day a week petrol station with an inordinate amount of associated health and safety risks.”
The site sits just 50 metres from North Perth Primary School, well inside the Environmental Protection Authority’s recommended 200-metre buffer between schools and fuel stations. According to research cited by the local campaigners, there is a doubling of the risk of leukaemia for children living in close proximity to service stations.
The site has a long industrial past, operating as a family-run automotive garage since the 1950s. When the petrol bowsers were first installed, “the cancer-causing harms of petrol were not well known,” residents say.
By 2002, the land had been approved for dual use as a service station and vehicle sales under Vincent council’s town planning scheme. But that only allowed the sale of petrol and vehicle accessories—not the kind of 24/7 convenience store model being proposed by OTR.
Further complicating the development is the City’s recent passage of Amendment 12 to its local planning scheme, which prohibits new service stations in all zones except those already zoned commercial. This change, adopted in February 2024, effectively prevents OTR from using the house at 45 Angove Street as part of its plan.
Health
“Putting aside all health and safety risks, the small streets of North Perth are not equipped to cope with the movement of petrol tankers, and large volumes of extra traffic. It is impossible to envision the impact on our streets,” said a local campaign statement.
Residents say OTR’s original traffic analysis—claiming an additional 600 cars per day—was flawed from the outset. “This was based on traffic data collected during school holidays at the height of Covid,” the statement continues. “No traffic impact was provided for their second application.”
“As the July hearing at the SAT approaches, the wall of socks growing along the site fence stands as a powerful visual reminder that the community message has not changed,” the campaign statement said.
The OTR group, acquired by Viva in a $1.215 billion deal earlier this year, is known for its round-the-clock operations. The company operates a portfolio that includes the national retail chain Smokemart and 92 quick-service restaurants—all open 24/7.
by STEVE GRANT