Perth Voice Interactive

WHEN the apartment block Lucyanna came on the market in 2021, it was an “investor’s dream”; 24 apartments tucked away just behind Inglewood’s main strip.

But neighbours say since the Department of Communities snapped up the property that dream has turned into a nightmare because of the anti-social behaviour of some of its new tenants.

At this week’s Stirling council meeting, a local described being “terrified” and “terrorised” by the antics of some of the complex’s tenants over the last couple of months and implored mayor Mark Irwin to write to housing minister John Carey seeking intervention.

“Amongst many, many other things, residents and their visitors have had sex on the balcony in the middle of the day in full view of three businesses, have terrorised patrons and damaged property at a local cafe with a wooden picket, have left drug paraphernalia in the carpark in the laneway adjacent to the property, and finally, last week visitors to the complex have begun announcing to local businesses that the KGB has arrived in a threatening manner,” Maria told the chamber (the Chook has withheld her surname).

Maria said a group of residents had met with Department of Communities staff on January 23 to air their concerns and to ask for Stirling’s mobile CCTV to be brought back and were advised that was locked in at a meeting between the department, council officers and police.

“It is now February 18 and the CCTV tower still hasn’t arrived in that time,” she said.

The City’s community development director Michael Quirk admitted he was unaware of the City’s commitment from that meeting, but said he’d be happy to see the CCTV tower put there.

“It is important to note that the mobile CCTV is in high demand, so it does rotate around the city quite often, and it certainly isn’t going to be the solution to some of the issues you’ve experienced,” Mr Quirk said.

“The community safety team are certainly happy to work with residents about lots of different strategies that we’ve deployed in similar circumstances.”

Maria says the nub of the problem is Communities’ decision to put exclusively social housing tenants in Lucyanna.

“I believe this whole situation would have been avoided by making the complex of mixed tenure, which is a combination of private, affordable and social housing.

“The City of Perth has two new high-density housing projects, one in Pier Street and the other where Stirling Towers once stood on Smith Street, and they will both be mixed tenure with 30 per cent social housing dwellings, which I believe is a great fit for both the local community and the housing tenants themselves.”

Maria fears things will get even worse when Communities builds another social housing complex just up the road on Beaufort Street opposite the Inglewood Hotel.

“The planned high-density housing project for 969 – 971 Beaufort Street will also be 100 per cent state housing, which, given the effect that 157 has had on the community so far, I believe doing the same for a complex with more than double the occupancy of [Lucyanna], that is extremely irresponsible, and I also think it’s extremely unfair.”

Mr Irwin agreed to write to Mr Carey putting the community’s concerns, saying local councillors and the community had made him aware of the problems in the last week..

“I don’t disagree with you at all,” Mr Irwin told Maria.

by STEVE GRANT