Our first full Council meeting for the year took place at 5pm on Tuesday 27 February. As usual these updates are my personal opinion only and do not reflect the official position of the City or my colleagues on Council. You can view a livestream of the meeting by clicking here.
Ruah's Safe Night Space - 247 James Street
Council supported the Lord Mayor's amended motion, which I seconded, to approve Ruah's application with a tighter management plan in place. This approval means the site is open from 8.30am to 2.30pm Monday - Friday under the drop-in centre use as approved by the State Government, and now Ruah will have a changeover period with new staff who come in and will operate it under a Safe Night Centre use from 7pm to 7am all week. The management plan amendments include a security guard outside during the SNS period. This is aimed at better protecting women accessing the site, and deter loitering and anti-social behaviour from others.
In reaching a compromise on this situation, it is worth remembering the context of this site. It has gone from being a commercial office space opposite a café and a hotel/retail shops, to a homeless drop-in centre, to now effectively operating 18 hours a day providing acute support for our most vulnerable far away from any supporting services like RPH which the applicant stated provides most referrals. Neighbours have a right to show concern and want to know how this will be managed. It's not lacking in compassion to want adherence to such management plans, it's proper planning. We have worked through many different views over the past few years relating to this site, as is our job. It's why Council asked the State Government to change our Scheme to fully contemplate such applications taking on board community concerns before deciding for ourselves, rather than simply being forced to wave the application through.
Ultimately, we didn't have any other choice. The Minister for Planning rejected our scheme amendment which would have allowed more weight to be placed on the obvious community concern related to this site which uses the Community Centre definition. The best we can do under the rules set down by the State Government is ignore the pleas of locals and trust the management plan provides some protection against noise complaints, anti-social behaviour, violence, trespassing and litter.
I maintain the view that if a management plan is so integral in ensuring the proposed land use does not lead to the detriment of the surrounding land uses in the area, like our neighbouring businesses and residents, then it's clear there is a fundamental problem with what's being proposed. Time will tell if these measures will work.
Scheme amendments
Council adopted two scheme amendments:
- No. 50: Amalgamating six individual lots on Barrack Street into one to enable a far more efficient approval process for Randal Humich's vision to come to life.
- No. 51: Approved ‘Healthcare 2’ land use category as an additional use over the southern half of 99 (Lot 10) Adelaide Terrace, 10 and 40 (Lots 11 and 12) Terrace Road, East Perth.
- In 2017, the site received planning approval for a mixed-use redevelopment. This approval comprised a supermarket, retail and restaurant tenancies, a community theatre, gallery, performance venues, childcare centre, health and wellness centre, and a medical centre.
Both of these amendments allow the applicants to progress with the next stages of their projects with this equalling millions in new investment for our city.
Heritage conservation grants
The City recognises that Perth’s heritage makes a significant contribution to the city’s identity, prosperity, and ongoing liveability. The Heritage Conservation Grants aim to support physical conservation works, documentation and professional heritage advice relating to the conservation of heritage-protected places.
Council approved $200,000 to the following co-funded grant applications to preserve the character of our City's heritage buildings. These works are as follows:
- 569 Wellington Street, Perth = $15,000
- 918 Hay Street, Perth = $11,700
- 307 Murray Street, Perth = $25,000
- 47 Wellington Street, East Perth = $25,000
- 108 St Georges Terrace, Perth = $25,000
- 125 St Georges Terrace, Perth = $11,690
- 3/299 Newcastle Street, Northbridge = $6,319
- Lawson Apartments, 2 Sherwood Court = $12,500
- 67 King Street, Perth = $25,000
- 22 Palmerston, Northbridge = $10,251
- 855 Wellington Street, Perth = $25,000
- 69 King Street, Perth = $7,538
Stay tuned for the next round of funding by visiting the City's grants portal here.
As usual if you need any help with the City please give me a call on 0406 681 432 or email brent.fleeton@cityofperth.wa.gov.au
Yours sincerely,
Cr Brent Fleeton
City of Perth