PERTH’S paid parking revenue is in free-fall, with council machines collecting $120,000 less per month than budgeted. The budgeted figure was itself $3.8 million less than earlier projected figures. Parking fees make up $75m of the PCC’s projected $111m operating revenue budget. With the public transport authority also reporting a drop in commuters on trains,…

ON Monday February 2, hundreds of local children will bustle for the first time into the rebuilt Mt Lawley Primary School. Principal Don Barber says the new $11.2 million school is state-of-the-art, with reverse-cycle air conditioning in every classroom. “We’re on track and raring to go,” he says. “We’ve got a new undercover area in…

A MOVE to install free wi-fi in the Morley CBD has been voted down by Bayswater city council. Cr Chris Cornish was unhappy with his colleagues’ decision, stating the program would have been “half the cost of the mayoral dinner”. He’d tabled the motion for the council to spend $25,000 on free wi-fi, just as…

STEVE LAVELL is making an emotional return to Maylands to open a cafe and small bar on Eighth Avenue. After spending seven years working as a journalist in Melbourne, Lavell got homesick and has returned to his childhood suburb to embark on a new career. He will spend around $600,000 kitting out Henry on Eighth,…

ALRIGHT, so the geothermal heating is still a bit temperamental (Voice, January 24, 2015) but the upgrade at Beatty Park has seen a good number of wins for the centre. Before the $17.5 million upgrade the centre was getting a bit old and tatty, a far cry from the days of the 1962 Empire Games,…

MUMBLINGS of “demolition by neglect” reverberated around Perth city council’s planning committee as councillors pored over an application to knock down three rapidly deteriorating buildings on Beaufort Street. Westop Investments wants to demolish 108–120 Beaufort Street without a replacement plan. That’s usually a no-no, but it’s arguing it’s necessary because the places are dangerous and…

BAYSWATER city council’s refusal to deal with 10 issues passed by the annual general meeting of electors has infuriated residents. The council says it makes more sense to put off debate on issues including a tree register, recording of meetings and heritage status for Halliday Park till after the merger with Bassendean. But residents’ association…

A TOILET BLOCK at Wellington Square in East Perth may be demolished as part of a bid to deal with on-going anti-social behaviour. Homeless people shelter under the block’s eaves but fed-up nearby residents say they also engage heavily in illicit drugs use, fight, harass passers-by and defecate in their front yards. The sturdy but…

RON WALLEY, left, is one of the people who shelters by the toilet block and uses the threadbare facilities there. Most of the rough-sleepers stay here while in town for medical care, but Mr Walley’s been in Perth a few years now, and homeless for about six months since his brother and mother died last…

ADVERTISEMENT: At SHELMARK REAL ESTATE, you benefit from our strong community presence and local knowledge coupled with our leading edge systems and marketing strategies. SHELMARK REAL ESTATE is made up of ethical, like-minded, fully qualified real estate professionals who work for themselves. You will find uncompromised value, unsurpassed professionalism and the realisation you are being looked after by people who listen…