A PRIVATELY-OWNED wetland neighbouring Eric Singleton Bird Sanctuary has been partially cleared and will be filled in to make way for a 27-lot housing development. Last Tuesday heavy machinery rolled in with little warning. Paperbacks have been felled, scrub cleared, and residents were furious no attempt was made to relocate oblong tortoises, banjo frogs or…

IF 2013 was the year of bike lanes in Vincent, then the council’s 2016 budget marks the year for pedestrians. It’s one of the most common requests from the public and three of the worst pedestrian crossings will be made safer; the intersections of William and Bulwer Streets, Loftus and Burke and Vincent and Fitzgerald.…

FOR the first time Vincent council asked locals to have their say on the budget before anything was written in stone, and plenty took the opportunity to weigh in. Most years only two or three enthusiastic council watchers make budget submissions, since it only goes out to advertising after being written up and post-draft changes…

BAYSWATER councillors have voted to paint a poisoned tree yellow to signify the cowardice of the tree-hater behind the attack. The poisoner bored into the roots of a Queenland box tree near the corner of Guildford Road and Crowther Street. “Enough is enough,” Bayswater mayor Barry McKenna says. “Tree vandalism is a criminal offence and…

AN awards night for businesses and a street festival are in jeopardy after Bayswater council got caught out by a crackdown on accepting gifts. For seven years Bayswater has been funding an awards night run by the Central Eastern Business Association, but along the way so many councillors have accepted tickets and now have to…

WHEN boxer Hayden Wright isn’t swinging punches, skipping, or cornering chickens à la Rocky Balboa, he’s helping kids achieve their dreams. H-Bomb, as he’s known, has a fledgling boxing career that’s already earned him a heavyweight title and some headlines, but behind the scenes he’s spent four years as a social worker with Activ Foundation…

A FIRE station nestled amidst houses at 27-33 Carr Street has been approved by the WA planning commission. Neighbours who’ve been fighting the proposal labelled the decision ”arrogant”, but the fire and emergency services department says its vital and in the only appropriate location. Of the 56 submissions, 45 were opposed, with residents siting traffic,…

THE Bayswater Men’s Shed got in contact this week to let us know they’ve got a new website on the way and hence a new email to contact them: secretary@baysieshed.org.au. Like the shed, the website’s still a work in progress, but if you want to catch the sheddies for a “social morning” head down to…

FUTURE BAYSWATER will be bringing in planning experts to speak at a series of public forums designed to generate ideas for shaping the city into the future. Made up of business owners and residents, the newish group’s main campaign so far has been pushing Bayswater council over a structure plan for the town centre and…

TWENTY years of unenforceable fines are to be written off by Vincent council. The 2,249 fines total $253,660. Councils routinely write them off because they’re either unenforceable (the person’s dead or overseas) or it would cost more to enforce them than they’d ever get back. Perth council clears its out every few months to keep…