Vacant blocks of prime West Perth land adjacent to one of Perth’s busiest interchanges has been given the green light to host higher density apartments and commercial development.

Planning Minister John Carey announced on Friday he had approved a plot ratio increase for three large blocks nestled between Troode Street, Loftus Street and the Mitchell Freeway off-ramp.

To borrow a succinct explanation on plot ratio from a helpful City of South Perth document I unearthed in my Google search, it’s the ratio of the total floor area of a building to the area of the site.

A plot ratio of 1 would mean the floor area is equal to the site area.

Carey has approved a plot ratio of 5:1 for residential developments and 3:1 for commercial developments at the West Perth site, which is above the 3:1 ratio the City of Perth were seeking, that is, denser, so in practice it means fitting more apartments in.

Carey said the site would be ideal for infill development, and took a potshot at the city.

“What the City of Perth first proposed for this strategic site would have been a missed opportunity to revitalise the West Perth precinct and to enable more housing to be delivered in our inner city,” he said.

“It’s acknowledged there must be shared a responsibility across all levels of government to deliver more housing at this critical time, and this is an example of a local government not taking the opportunity to enable more housing in a key, strategic infill area.”

The City of Perth was approached for comment.