A PLAN to demolish a 1930 steelworks in West Perth has been put on hold, with Perth councillor Jemma Green requesting city staff investigate if it has enough historic value to warrant heritage listing. Landowner PFJ Investments want to knock over the Coolgardie Street building “to facilitate the sale of the land”, according to a…

FEDERAL Perth MP Tim Hammond is urging local groups to apply for grants under the Stronger Communities Program, with grants between $5,000 to $20,000 on offer for community groups, sports clubs and local governments. He’s inviting interested groups to fill out an EOI via his website ahead of their full application to improve their chance…

THE eternal saga of the East Perth concrete batching plants drags on with Vincent council holding a special meeting July 12 to discuss its plan to see the back of them. The two plants—owned by companies Holcim and Hanson—want to stick around, arguing they need to be able to deliver concrete direct to construction projects…

A NOT-FOR-PROFIT is taking inspiration from Detroit and holding a soup and ideas night to raise cash to improve Vincent. Punters pay $10 for a bowl of soup and a vote, and during the meal they listen to four-minute pitches from people working on projects that help the local community. The Detroit SOUP nights started…

PLANS to build a petrol station opposite Mt Hawthorn primary school have been refused by Vincent council, following a wave of opposition from locals. The proposed site, on the corner of Scarborough Beach Road and Buxton Street, was previously a servo and is now a Red Cross Shop. Owner B R Rispoli wanted to build…

BAYSWATER council won’t take action over wetlands trees damaged by contractors at the D’Orazio-owned block near Eric Singleton Bird Sanctuary, because it could jeopardise its negotiations to buy the block next door. When preliminary works started at the D’Orazio block in late July, the contractors overstepped the boundary into the wetlands and sawed off large…

A FECKLESS, cold-hearted burglar has attempted to break into the homeless support charity “The Shopfront” in Maylands. The Shopfront serves up meals for the homeless, gives them free clothing and bedding, a place to have a shower and do their laundry, and connects them to health services. The charity is not open on the weekend,…

PERTH MP John Carey has torn strips off Perth lord mayor Lisa Scaffidi’s council allies, describing their cosy relationship with the former Liberal state government as a “protection racket”. While debating a bill on Wednesday to have councils audited by the auditor general, Mr Carey singled out Perth as an example of why codes of…

VINCENT has joined a growing number of councils calling for third party appeals of planning decisions. In WA only the applicant can appeal, but in other states a neighbour can appeal the approval of a development next door, and in Tasmania a third party can appeal if they’re “injuriously affected”, with other states having similar…

LAST week we said Beatty Park leisure centre was in urgent need of repairs only a year after its big $17 million redevelopment. Those works (stages one to three) were actually finished in 2013. There was a planned stage four to fix up the original 1962-era parts, like the ground floor plant room and the…