Perth Voice Interactive

THE short-lived ability to subdivide 240sqm blocks into even smaller parcels has been banned in the Cleaver and Hyde precincts in Vincent.

The right to subdivide tiny blocks had been an accidental side-effect of a state government policy intended to give higher density to places like Ellenbrook. It ended up affecting Vincent’s historic inner-city suburbs by mistake.

Residents had been divided over the oopsie: some feared it would lead to the area’s stock of old buildings demolished, while others saw dollar signs rolling before their eyes.

Either way, it’s been outlawed since January 27 when the council’s new law was gazetted to rezone the blocks to what they effectively used to be.

by DAVID BELL