Perth Voice Interactive

NORTH PERTH residents packed Vincent council’s public gallery this week to oppose a 24-hour petrol station planned for the Angove Street cafe strip.

Their main concern was that petrol fumes would endanger health and kill the strip’s alfresco culture.

The block on the corner of Angove and Woodville Street was a mechanic’s garage for five decades, and when it closed a couple of years ago locals hoped any replacement at the landmark site would complement the mix of small retail, cafes and houses.

But the block was bought in late 2021 by South Australia-based petrol company On the Run, owned by Peregrine Corporation.

It has 160 petrol stations around the country and wants to add the Angove site, with designs showing signs boasting “we never close”.

Resident Nicole Wolf lives behind the proposed station amd says when she bought her house she’d found “the perfect place to raise a family. It’s close to cafes, day care, and the school.

“Now we have twin babies at home and we spend every day with them living our North Perth dream, whether that’s enjoying alfresco breakfast or getting fresh air on the strip.

“The petrol station proposal seeks to destroy our North Perth family dream.

“How could we continue to live in our house or send our children to daycare knowing that we’re exposing them to fumes that increase the chance of leukaemia?

“What will happen to the businesses that we love when their customers are driven away? I sure wouldn’t want to sit there sipping coffee looking at an eight-bowser petrol station and smelling petrol fumes.”

A group of six health researchers and medical practitioners, including two locals affected by the proposal, have formed a working party to analyse the research evidence on the health risks associated with living near petrol stations. 

Their 17-page report says “benzene, which is a constituent of petroleum, is recognised as an established carcinogen in adults.

“In children, residential proximity of under 50 metres to petrol stations has been found to be associated with a 77 per cent increased risk of all cancers, and a two-fold increase in the risk of leukaemia”.

An apartment block is adjacent, homes are as close as 10 metres, and five cafes have alfresco setups within 50 metres. 

OTR’s application states “no loss of any community service or benefit is expected to occur as a result of the proposed development”.

That’s disputed by Don Barba, co-convener of the “Stop the Station” Group recently formed to oppose the plan. He’s a retired school principal and has concerns for students at nearby North Perth Primary, one corner of which is within that 50 metre radius.

His group has spoken to many local business owners and their submission says “the common theme from the shop keepers and patrons is that this development would ‘kill the strip’ because of the increased traffic and benzene vapours. Discussions with patrons and visitors of the cafe strip reinforce similar concerns about traffic volume and hazards, negative ambience and health issues related to the proximity of benzene vapours.”

Vincent council planners will now draw up a recommendation for either approval or refusal and hand it over to the state government’s Development Assessment Panel who’ll make the final decision.

One planning regulation that can be taken into consideration is “the suitability of the land for the development taking into account the possible risk to human health or safety”.

OTR’s application addresses this item stating: “This matter is not relevant to this proposal.”

THE Fremantle Chamber Orchestra will be joined by a new choir formed by Ukrainian refugees for a benefit concert in Fremantle tomorrow (Sunday November 20).

All proceeds from the Christmas Wish for Ukraine Benefit Concert will be donated to the Ukraine Crisis Appeal, an Australian charity providing emergency and humanitarian aid to those affected by Russia’s war in Ukraine. 

“I am deeply touched by the abhorrent and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine,” FCO director Hans Hug said. 

“The targeted bombardment of civilian housing and infrastructure is simply shocking, ghastly, and so harrowing it leaves me speechless and depressed. 

“How can this happen in the 21st century? Let alone in Europe where I grew up during the cold war?

“So, FCO wants to help at least those most vulnerable.

“All proceeds go to the Ukraine Crisis Appeal for emergency housing and urgent humanitarian needs with an emphasis on women and children, as the winter with temperatures -20 degrees Celsius approaches”

The concert will be a collaboration of Ukrainian and WA musicians and will include an intermission where guests are invited to taste some Ukrainian delicacies.

There will be a variety of musical performances throughout the afternoon and the concert will conclude with The Echoes of Ukraine Singers, a newly formed choir of Ukrainian refugees. 

The concert will be held in the Fremantle Town Hall from 3pm. 

“Evoke the Ukrainian spirit and soul with a wish for peace for the Ukrainian nation,” Mr Hug said. 

Tickets $40: http://www.trybooking. com/CDPPZ or at the door if not sold out earlier.

By MEG ANDERSON

THE owners of a vast West Perth block have won approval to demolish the existing buildings and build a Bunnings warehouse.

The decision stymies attempts by local creatives and Vincent council to rejuvenate the ‘Pickle District’ into an arts hub. 

The state government’s Development Assessment Panel greenlit plans from the block’s owners Anita Percudani and Loretta Ricciardi for the $25.5 million redevelopment south of Newcastle Street, with Bunnings to be the major tenant alongside a childcare centre and a half dozen assorted retail tenancies. 

Outvoted

Because the project is valued higher than $10m, the WA government takes the decision out of the local council’s hands. The council’s only representative on the DAP, Susan Gontaszewski, voted against the development but was outvoted by the three state-government appointed members.

The developer’s application said the project would “positively contribute to the vitality of Cleaver Street and Old Aberdeen Place”.

But of 330 public submissions to the DAP, 309 opposed the plans.

One opponent was Jon Denaro, chair of the Pickle District Town Team, a group of locals that’s been driving the area’s rejuvenation in recent years.

“The ramifications are that the Pickle District arts precinct has been gutted,” Mr Denaro told us after the decision.

He said the district was “unlikely to recover from this”.

“This is the only arts precinct in WA. [It] took 15 years to get to this point.”

Vincent mayor Emma Cole attended the DAP meeting to make a presentation against the project, saying the area’s a burgeoning arts hub that should be nurtured.

“The Pickle District has become a place of diverse mix of creative industries,” Ms Cole said. 

“Art galleries, event venues, artist and design studios, a photographic and film studio, and creative businesses; a place where an iconic annual art event is taking place, and as such has become an arts hub for Perth.

“This is not easily recreated. It is a place that has a strong identity and is authentically creative. There is a thriving town team of volunteers – also known as The Pickle District – which has helped shape this place.”

The Bunnings is a biggie at 7,335sqm, far larger than the compact format Bunnings stores in Subiaco (3,800sqm), East Victoria Park (2,400sqm) and Osborne Park (1,900sqm).

Ms Cole said a smaller Bunnings might be more welcomed, and had discussed with the applicants “whether something very innovative and different could be delivered that would meet in the middle – a lower scale Bunnings with an integrated and substantial floor space for creative uses – even a live music venue.” 

Ms Cole said Vincent council was currently working on a “Pickle District Planning Framework”, a planning document that would set out their vision for the area to encourage more creative businesses to move in.

A draft is planned to be ready by April 2023. 

If that draft was already out, under planning rules it would count as an aspirational document that could be “seriously entertained” by the DAP and might present a stumbling block to the big hardware barn’s approval.  

“We were six months from a master planning process from City of Vincent where we were going to be in a great position to steer development,” Mr Denaro reflected.

Instead the development was allowed under existing planning rules, which he calls “really old guidelines … totally out of date and did not reflect what has been going on”.

After we reported on the plans in June (“In a Pickle,” Voice, June 25, 2022) the developers did chat to some tenants and make changes to the plans, incorporating spaces for the existing tenancies to move back in once the building was complete.

But gym owner Nicola Hibbert from Inner City Fitness told us at the time a multi-year hiatus involved too much uncertainty for a small business to wait out, and approval would likely herald the end of her time in the Pickle District.

This week Ms Hibbert told us the decision was “disappointing,” but not surprising. 

Her lease has two more years left on it, but a redevelopment clause can see her moved out with six months notice when the owners want to start construction.

“We hope we will see out our lease, which is two years, so we can recoup money spent on the business, and hopefully find somewhere else within the six months notice they give us if it comes to that.

“It will be sad for the area. It will no longer feel the same, and will look just like every other place in Perth.”

1962 Empire Games

AFTER recently delving into the unofficial first uses of Beatty Park Leisure Centre and its multiple clandestine first swimmers who dove in before opening day (“Did you take the plunge,” Voice, September 3, 2022), this week the Vincent Local History Centre brings us the story of the more official uses of the venue as the grounds for the 1962 Commonwealth Games.

THIS month marks the 60th birthday of Beatty Park Leisure Centre which was built for the VIIth British Empire and Commonwealth Games in 1962.  

The event saw Perth take its place on the world’s sporting stage with a new-found confidence and energy. 

Planning for the Games began in the late 1950s with construction of the athletics stadium and athletes’ village at Perry Lakes in Wembley and the cycling velodrome in Leederville (now Litis Stadium).  

After several years of heated debate about where the main aquatic venue should be built, Beatty Park Reserve in North Perth won over Kings Park as the chosen site. 

Workers broke ground at Beatty Park Reserve in mid-to-late 1961. 

Project manager Len Spence oversaw a 12-month whirlwind of pool construction that finished just in time for the Games.

The late Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, officially opened the Games at Perry Lakes Stadium in front of a crowd of almost 50,000. 

Over 850 competitors representing 35 countries took part in a range of sports from 22 November to 1 December.   

In the pool, Dawn Fraser and Murray Rose reigned supreme over their Commonwealth competitors. 

“It was a fantastic pool and great to swim in – well before its time,” recalled Fraser, who won two of Australia’s 14 gold medals in the swimming and diving events.  

Eight new world records were set in the pool during the Games, including the women’s 440-yard medley relay which was anchored by Fraser.  

Out of the pool, despite a scorching heatwave, Perth laid on a variety of events and activities such as sailing regattas.

Many Perth residents remember the buzz and excitement of the Games.

“It was very, very exciting and very, very busy, full on and everything was new to everybody,” said former Beatty Park pool manager Rod Hounslow.

“We were up in the grandstand there watching it all happen. It was as full as it can be – it was just a huge attraction. We saw the diving, the swimming, all the sprinting. Murray Rose in his 800 yards swim, the whole lot – we went every day,” said local Peter Kora

“The year 1962 will no doubt be talked about for a long time. The year that Perth reached its peak for publicity, the year that Perth became known as the City of Light and the year that Perth had the honour of being the host city for the Empire and Commonwealth Games,” said Francis Raymond Whay.

Over the years, Beatty Park has been renovated and upgraded to meet the changing needs of the Perth community.  

To celebrate its 60th birthday, Beatty Park is hosting two events in late November.

The centre’s Sixties Sundowner over-18’s event on Friday, November 25 will pay homage to its early years as a concert venue and feature 60s tribute bands The Santana Experience and The Hijacked Hollies.  

Tickets are $35 each including cocktail food and one drink at the on-site bar and can be purchased at the Beatty reception or online.

The centre will host an all-ages Retro Family Fun Day, from 2 – 6pm on Saturday, November 26. 

There will be retro-themed entertainment including mermaids, gogo dancers, a hula hooper, bubble artist, living statues and a DJ playing tunes from acts that performed at the centre in the 60s and 70s. 

If you have memories you’d like to share about Beatty Park, come and share your memories with the Local History Centre staff at Beatty Park on 22 November from 2 – 6pm in the cafe, or at the Retro Family Fun Day on November 26 from 2 – 6pm.

St Pat’s is holding its annual fundraiser, The Fremantle Long Table Dinner, next Saturday (November 26) with a target of raising $150,000 to continue supporting the most vulnerable people in Perth’s South Metro. Tix: fremantlelongtable.com.au

THANK goodness St Patrick’s Community Support Centre is celebrating its 50th birthday with a Long Table Dinner fundraiser – because more people than ever are needing its help.

In the past year there has been a 30 per cent rise in the number of homeless and at-risk people reaching out to St Pat’s for help, and the demand has been so great it’s been overwhelmed – sadly turning away almost 1000 people in the 2021/22 financial year. 

Increasing interest rates and the rising cost of living are hitting families across WA hard with many seeking support for the first time from the homelessness service and community housing provider.

“We’re about to mark our 50th anniversary and yet we’re busier than we’ve ever been,” says St Pat’s CEO Michael Piu.

“Unfortunately, it’s a story we’re hearing from our partners across the sector; more and more people are being pushed to the brink.”

St Pat’s runs a drop-in day centre on Queen Victoria Street in Fremantle that provides people with meals, showers, health and dental care along with referrals and advocacy.

In the past few years, there has been a rise in the number of women coming in for help.

“Last financial year we hadmore women than men accessing our services for the first time in our history,” Mr Piu says. 

“In our experience, women tend to be more resourceful and will exhaust other avenues before they seek help from service providers.

“Because of this, we know that the real number of women experiencing homelessness and in unsafe accommodation is likely much higher than the already-concerning data suggests.” 

St Pat’s is holding its annual fundraiser, The Fremantle Long Table Dinner, next Saturday 

(November 26) with a target of raising $150,000 to continue supporting the most vulnerable people in Perth’s South Metro.

And with federal treasurer Jim Chalmers warning that inflation “will get worse before it gets better,” St Pat’s will need all the help they can get to assist people through the difficult days ahead. 

The under-the-stars Long Table Dinner in Walyalup Koort (old Kings Square) includes a gourmet three-course meal, live music, street entertainers and disco. For tickets go to fremantlelongtable.com.au or you can donate directly to St Pat’s at stpats.com.au/volunteer/donate

THE fate of Bayswater’s “ward” system up for public debate.

Bayswater currently has councillors allotted to four wards, with citizens voting for three representatives in West Ward, Central Ward and North Ward, while South Ward has two.

The ward system is intended to better represent an area’s minority views which might otherwise get lost if all candidates stand in a big run-off. 

Pork-barrelling

There’s debate among political scientists over whether wards achieve that aim, or whether they just lead to more arguing and pork-barrelling as councillors try to wrestle funds towards their own ward to win local support.

Planned state government reforms will see wards removed at many councils. Local government minister John Carey has requested councils like Bayswater either review their ward system to justify keeping them, or they’ll have the boundaries scrapped at the 2023 election.

Bayswater’s volunteered to review the system and wants to hear from residents about whether they should keep wards.

Options include:

• Scrapping the ward system;

• Reducing wards from four to two;

• Retaining four wards, but rejigging boundaries to have equal representation based on the population (the two South Ward councillors are currently representing a few hundred extra residents each compared to other wards).

Consultation’s open til December 15 via engage.bayswater.wa.gov.au or in person at the Civic Centre or council libraries.

While the review is eating up a lot of council staff time, Bayswater mayor Filomena Piffaretti says doing it voluntarily is a better option than losing wards: “I truly believe taking the voluntary pathway proposed by the minister for local government … will result in the best possible outcome and cause the least amount of disruption.”

Bayswater’s also reducing the number of councillors from 11 to nine over two election cycles, and will let voters choose a mayor directly for the first time in 2023 instead of councillors making the choice.