{"id":727071,"date":"2026-06-10T09:14:17","date_gmt":"2026-06-10T09:14:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/727071\/"},"modified":"2026-06-10T09:14:17","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T09:14:17","slug":"why-bunningss-plan-to-move-10km-from-bunbury-has-become-a-red-hot-political-issue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/727071\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Bunnings’s plan to move 10km from Bunbury has become a ‘red hot’ political issue"},"content":{"rendered":"

A public outcry has erupted over Bunnings’s decision to shut up shop in Western Australia’s second-largest city and move down the road to a neighbouring shire.<\/p>\n

The hardware giant plans to vacate its site at a retail centre in Bunbury, south of Perth, and shift to Dalyellup, 10 kilometres away in the neighbouring Shire of Capel.<\/p>\n

The $70 million move has prompted bitter objections from the city’s business community, mayor, and both federal and state politicians.<\/p>\n

Eddy Gobby, who owns a suspension workshop close to the Bunnings site near Bunbury’s CBD, is concerned the hardware giant’s departure will hurt surrounding businesses.<\/p>\n

\"Eddy<\/p>\n

Eddy Gobby fears businesses surrounding the Bunnings precinct, like his, will suffer a loss of trade. (ABC News: Jacqueline Lynch)<\/p>\n

“Don’t you think they have sort of corporate responsibility?” he said.<\/p>\n

Questions have been raised about the suitability of the proposed new site, which is zoned for urban development, and whether it takes away residential land.<\/p>\n

‘Red hot’ local outcry<\/p>\n

About 100 people attended a community meeting about the move this week and the City of Bunbury subsequently voted to lodge a formal objection to the move.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Dozens of people attended a public meeting about the plan. (ABC South West WA: Georgia Loney)<\/p>\n

Federal Liberal MP Ben Small is demanding WA planning authorities refuse the development application on the grounds that the land should be used for housing.<\/p>\n

“The number one issue for the South West is the lack of sufficient housing,” he said.<\/p>\n

“This is a red hot issue, because people can see 300 lots ready to go for housing being displaced by a commercial enterprise that is seeking to move.”<\/p>\n

The land is zoned urban development, which allows for a mix of uses, and under the shire’s structure plan has been set aside for residential use.<\/p>\n

But Capel council officers said the land may no longer be appropriate for residential use, given its proximity to a recently built major highway connection.<\/p>\n

\"An<\/p>\n

The vacant site, south-west of the Bussell Highway roundabout, where the Bunnings may be built. (Supplied: Nearmap)<\/p>\n

The WA Planning Commmission (WAPC) will make the final decision about permitted use of the land.<\/p>\n

The ABC has confirmed WA Labor MP Don Punch, who has also lodged concerns with state planning authorities.<\/p>\n

Bunnings’s director of property Garry James said the new 18,000-square-metre store would create about 60 new jobs.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Bunbury has strong historical ties to the hardware giant, which ran a timber yard in the city as far back as the early 1900s. (ABC News: Gian De Poloni)<\/p>\n

“We are currently progressing through the planning approvals process,” he said.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for the planning minister said the WAPC would consider feedback from the community and the City of Bunbury before making a decision.<\/p>\n

The furore comes also comes as the Bunbury CBD continues efforts for revitalisation<\/a>, with businesses concerned moving Bunnings further away from the city centre will have knock-on effects.<\/p>\n

Business and politics<\/p>\n

Mr Small has former business ties to Bunnings’s commercial landlord, Michael Prosser.<\/p>\n

Mr Prosser’s family have grown a property empire in Bunbury, known as Citygate Properties, which owns the Homemakers Centre where Bunnings is located.<\/p>\n

As an individual, Mr Prosser also previously held joint ownership of a local bar with Mr Small.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Forrest MP Ben Small spoke at the public meeting about Bunnings’s plan to move to Capel. (ABC South West WA: Georgia Loney)<\/p>\n

Mr Small said his views on the matter were completely independent of his past commercial and personal relationship with Mr Prosser.<\/p>\n

“I have no skin in the game in this decision, from a commercial sense,” he said.<\/p>\n

“I pride myself on independent decision making.”<\/p>\n

The ABC has reached out to Citygate Properties and Mr Prosser for comment but is yet to receive a response.<\/p>\n

Loading…A commercial decision<\/p>\n

Queensland University of Technology retail researcher Gary Mortimer said he did not believe Bunnings had an obligation to stay where it was.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

An artist impression of the new Bunnings store, south of Bunbury. (Supplied: Shire of Capel)<\/p>\n

He noted that Bunnings, like other big box retailers, often faced criticism when it moved into an area, not when it left.<\/p>\n

“It’s almost like they’re damned if they do and they’re damned if they don’t,” he said.<\/p>\n

“I don’t think the same standard exists for any other retailer, bedding retailer or furniture retailer or rugs retailer.”<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Gary Mortimer says big retailers face a huge amount of community scrutiny. (Supplied: Gary Mortimer)<\/p>\n

The Shire of Capel is set to vote whether to endorse the development plan tonight.<\/p>\n

Shire President John Fergusson previously said it was ultimately a commercial decision for Bunnings and state planning authorities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A public outcry has erupted over Bunnings’s decision to shut up shop in Western Australia’s second-largest city and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":727072,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[6905,64,63,352224,22680,64877,352232,99,269176,352231,352229,352225,352227,352228,7688,352226,352230,86,10726,45],"class_list":["post-727071","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-abc-news","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-ben-small","tag-bunbury","tag-bunnings","tag-bunnings-news","tag-business","tag-city-of-bunbury","tag-city-of-bunbury-council","tag-dalyellup","tag-gary-james","tag-geoff-prosser","tag-home-maker-centre","tag-housing","tag-kim-mortimer","tag-michael-prosser","tag-perth-news","tag-south-west","tag-wa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/727071","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=727071"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/727071\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/727072"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=727071"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=727071"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=727071"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}