THE rundown playground at Upper Bardon Park is set to be transformed into a regional nature playground. Bayswater city council is looking at spending $175,000 to upgrade the small riverside Maylands site into an eco-friendly play space. A concept with four zones representing European seasons and featuring sand, mulch and turf will be presented to…

THE Melbourne Hotel will (probably) be redeveloped to the tune of $40 million after a few stalled starts over the years. In 2011 owners Oakesfield put forward a plan for a $30m refurbishment and construction of 17 levels of offices above the circa 1897 hotel. That didn’t end up going ahead, following in the footsteps…

SUBIACO councillor Mark Burns has beaten Vincent council in his bid to open a gym next to the popular Bikram yoga studio in North Perth. The studio already ties neighbours in knots over parking and the council feared a gym would make things worse. While a council planning officer had written the application should be…

AUSTRALIA’S competition watchdog is worried about Coles’ proposed takeover of the Supa IGA in Dianella. If the takeover proceeds, Coles will own half the 10 supermarkets within 3km of the store, one of four Supa IGAs in WA in Coles’ sights. “The [Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s] preliminary view is that the proposed acquisition may…

CHRIS BARTY was three-and-a-half years old before he could walk. It took him two years to learn to operate a manual car. Barty was born with spastic diplegia, a form of cerebral palsy he says is “equivalent to having the legs of an 85-year-old”. Now 25, he has come on leaps and bounds and is…

HE is Maylands’ best-kept secret. Down on Tranby Reserve, in the old forgotten interpretive centre building, artisan Matt McVeigh is beavering away, making sets for the stage production of Cloud Street, painting landscapes, and designing mechanical kangaroos. He moved into the building in 2010, courtesy of a subsidised rent arrangement with Bayswater city council, and…

VINCENT city council’s rejection of four units on a Mt Hawthorn block is being appealed to the powerful but unelected state administrative tribunal. The infill plan is intensely unpopular with residents around Lynton Street, who’d shown up in force at the council to urge rejection: “We do not want to have multi-dwellings in our street,”…

PARENTS are worried $200,000 allocated for a safe crossing on Guildford Road could be sabotaged because of a funding stoush on Bayswater council The road is so dangerous to cross that several parents refuse to walk their kids to local schools and are driving instead, despite the short distance. Karen Bedell crosses Guildford Road six…

THE installation of signs to slow down traffic on Beaufort Street has been delayed by a lack of state government funding. More than two years after WA main roads committed to fund and install 40kph flashing signs on the stretch between Walcott Street and 150 metres south of Queens Crescent the project remains on the…

INGLEWOOD UNITED legend Siegfried “Siggy” Kramer has died. Involved with the club for more than 60 years, Kramer played for, managed and latterly was president of the club, retiring from his role just last year. In recognition of his contribution to the game in WA, Kramer was inducted into the WA football hall of fame…