Perth Voice Interactive

“NOISE and filth…six days a week”: many long-term Vincent residents are struggling with the WA government’s new turbo-charged housing density regime.

Introduced in 2010, generous allowances for multiple dwellings has resulted in an unprecedented jump in applications from developers keen to knock down single houses in Vincent’s dormitory suburbs and build blocks of units.

At each fortnightly council meeting there’ll inevitably be a couple of applications sitting before councillors, while the state government-controlled development assessment panel will look at another one or two each month.

Each application is accompanied by a handful of objections, with locals expressing concerns about height, bulk, extra traffic and the loss of their privacy.

The age-old image of the backyard as a sanctuary from the world is under serious threat.

The allowances were introduced to encourage more people into inner-city suburbs and curb urban sprawl as Perth’s population booms.

But resident Jay Simpson told Vincent’s development assessment panel this week that “since moving to Highgate, there has been endless demolition and construction near my property causing major disruption to lifestyle at our apartments and many others,” she said, referring to the big St Mark’s development nearby.

“The noise and the filth has been quite debilitating and has continued for some 18 months, six days a week.

“As the construction opposite our apartments draws to a close, we now receive the notice regarding the construction at 103 Harold Street [the now-approved project at the Pacific motel site].”

She said when unit blocks are too dense it can lead to “ghetto-like” problems.

“The sense of community is slowly being eroded by high rises which impact on the village atmosphere on Beaufort and surrounds, and turn the vibrant Highgate into the poor cousin of Mount Lawley.

“I think the council needs to show leadership around keeping the great Highgate vibe and saying ‘no’ to high-rise developers who are casting a shadow over our homes and our lifestyle.”

Last year Rosie Zappacosta let fly at the council over a two-storey block of flats on Angove Street.

“One bedroom, fly-in, fly-out workers who don’t give a shit about the area. We do not want them all.”

The same month Robert Hart was voicing similar concerns about a six-unit block on Anderson Street in Mt Hawthorn: “You say it conforms. Show me a block of six in that area. There isn’t one. There won’t be a tree left in Mt Hawthorn.”

Anna Chin was not impressed by the St Mark’s development when it first went before Vincent: “It still looks like a 1960s block of flats which I totally object to,” she said.

Vincent mayor Alannah MacTiernan has previously said the council must handle the roll-out carefully, only allowing extra height for excellent designs and putting hard limits on “discretionary” rules.

At Tuesday’s DAP meeting Ms MacTiernan said: “The area is changing, and we’ve got to accept that as Perth is growing rapidly—in the inner-city there’ll be increased density.

“[Highgate] is an appropriate area to get some of that density.

“This is not just about developers making money; it’s lifestyles changing and more people wanting to move into apartments in the area.”

While some residents watch their suburbs change with concern, the upside is that Highgate, North Perth and West Perth are becoming increasingly affordable because of the diverse housing options.

People are voting with their feet, with cheaper apartments selling like hotcakes.

The Albert in North Perth is another multiple dwelling project that attracted community ire. Yet all 11 apartments were sold before the foundations were even laid.

With prices averaging $450,000 to $600,000, they’re half the price of nearby freestanding houses.

by DAVID BELL