Perth Voice Interactive

THE McGowan government has invested $1.5 million to tackle homelessness in Perth and Vincent, ahead of a 10-year homelessness strategy pledged before the end of the year.

A third of the funding will go towards on-the-ground assistance for rough sleepers provided by Uniting Care West’s Tranby Centre in Northbridge, whiel will now be open 7am to 7pm every day.

Perth Labor MP John Carey said having the centre open longer would give police and outreach workers somewhere to take rough sleepers where they could have access to support services.

“That’s why this is so critical, because it is the first place workers can make contact with the rough sleepers,” Mr Carey said.

“It’s true to say that many homeless people are affected by deep issues such as mental health, drugs or alcohol, and while people sometimes say ‘why don’t you plonk them in that building over there’ you have to develop a relationship and talk about their issues so they want to get off the streets.”

Currently, none of the City of Perth’s drop-in centres are open after 2pm on weekdays or after midday on Saturday and Sunday.

Mr Carey said while Opposition leader Liza Harvey’s criticism of Perth as full of homeless “meth zombies” had shone a light on the issue, he’d been working on these initiatives for 18 months.

A further $550,000 will keep the youth homelessness service Foyer Oxford in Leederville open, along with funds to approximately the same value provided by Anglicare WA.

A new Anglicare-led Home Stretch program with get more than $400,000 to provide increased stability and support to kids transitioning from out-of-home care to independence once they turn 18, when they are at risk of becoming homeless.

The program provides housing, pathways to education, training and employment and practical, one-on-one assistance.

WA’s first 10-year Strategy on Homelessness is overdue, but it will follow in the last quarter of the year. The strategy is the first of its kind in WA, something Mr Carey says is astouning.

On Wednesday community services minister Simone McGurk launched the book When There’s No Place To Call Home, which features a collection of personal stories from Western Australians who have experienced homelessness.

by ALEX MURFETT and STEVE GRANT

STIRLING mayor Mark Irwin wants to ban wheel clamping in the city.

Cr Irwin has asked city officers to prepare a report on a potential ban, or at least some regulations, in response to the wheel clamping of a bunch of Christmas carollers last year.

Cr Irwin says he’s been mulling over the ban since the Scarborough Christmas Carols.

“Unfortunately the cars were parked on private property which the city has no jurisdiction over, so there was very little we could do,” he says.

“However we did write to the owners and managing agents of the property to see whether they would reconsider the use of wheel clamping and consider other methods of parking management.

“I don’t have an issue with private property owners enforcing parking on their property, it is the detaining of people and their property and extorting them for unreasonable amounts of money that should be outlawed.

“The city has never undertaken or condoned the wheel clamping of cars, so I wanted to explore whether the practice of wheel clamping can be banned, or at the very least regulated, in the city of Stirling.”

Wheel clamping was banned in Queensland 20 years ago and the New Zealand government is considering outlawing it.

Cr Irwin’s clamping motion will be considered at council later this month.

by STEPHEN POLLOCK

A FORMER drug rehabilitation site in Mount Lawley that has sat empty for over two years while local and state governments clashed over its future may finally be redeveloped.

At the core of the stoush was the WA government’s push to rezone the Field Street site R60, meaning a three-storey building with 20 apartments was on the cards. Some locals and Stirling council thought that density was overkill.

“Medium density”

But Mt Lawley Labor MP Simon Millman says he’s held meetings with local residents and they now “agree that the site is well-suited to a medium density development…they just wanted to make sure the established trees on the site are protected”.

Mr Millman expressed particular gratitude for “the submissions from the Mount Lawley Society which demonstrated a pragmatic approach to increasing density in our community”, calling it a “win-win result for the community”.

State planning minister Rita Saffioti noted the development supported “the state government priority of increasing the number of homes close to…high proximity public transport”.

She said there is still a need to “manage the interface with the adjoining residential areas to ensure the future development is in keeping with the character of the area.”

Stirling’s Beaufort Street Strategy identifies the Beaufort Street corridor as an area “with high frequency public transport with significant opportunities for high density housing.”

by JUSTIN STAHL

BAYSWATER’S town centre is “particularly vulnerable” and will need at least half a million dollars from the WA government to help businesses survive the disruption of the upcoming train station redevelopment.

That’s the message Bayswater will take to planning and transport minister Rita Saffioti and Maylands MP Lisa Baker following the council’s adoption of a plan to retain and attract visitors to the town during the two-year construction period.

The council says its commitment is worth $308,020, but cash and in-kind support from community partners takes the local component to $880,000.

The three-fold plan of attack is to create a laneway activation project, develop destination marketing and create a “space bank” project.

Business support

The latter was conceived by Bendigo Bank franchisee Bayswater Community Financial Services, which purchased 83 Whatley Crescent opposite the train station last year and wants to turn it into a business support and community centre.

BCFS would provide administration and business support, but needs outside cash to fit the building out to create shared workspaces and community facilities. Bayswater has already kicked in $20,000 over two years to the project.

The laneway behind businesses on the northern side of King William Street would be activated by long table dinners, creative lighting, vintage markets, some greenery, acoustic music nights, film nights, art installations and festivals.

The destination marketing plan would promote the town centre both internally and externally to bring in new visitors, be linked to events, competitions and vouchers, and would involve “wayfinding and signage highlighting key locations and businesses”.

STIRLING council has backflipped on its decision to remove a children’s seat from a laneway in Mt Lawley following a public backlash.

The city had requested the seat in Bercove Lane be removed by the end of last month, following a single complaint about noise and disruption.

The decision infuriated locals, with Kathryn Agate lodging a “Save the Seat” petition with the city.

This week Ross Povey, Stirling council’s planning director, told the Voice they had “been in touch with the resident who lodged the petition and let them know that the removal of the seat will not be pursued at this time.

“Public health and safety is of the utmost importance to the City of Stirling. While the city has a responsibility to follow up complaints and adhere to any rules and regulations or legislation, we also recognise that some issues – like this one – are multi-faceted and require a tailored approach.

“We understand that the seat in Bercove Lane has sentimental and community value attached to it and we are working to balance all of our responsibilities to the community.”

Mr Povey added that the city was currently redrafting its Thoroughfares and Public Places Local Law to allow community members to own and activate streets in appropriate locations.

The “Save the seat” petition noted that “all of the children in the area have learnt to ride trikes, bikes and boards in this area, creating a friendly community for themselves and parents alike.”

The seat, constructed from planks and old skateboard decks, was described as an “art piece.”

Ms Agate said the laneway is close to the Stirling-Vincent council boundary, and residents from both sides had supported the “Save the Seat” campaign on Facebook.

by MIREILLE CHRISTIE

STIRLING town centres could be revitalised by adapting Vincent’s “change of use” exemption for businesses, councillor Adam Spagnolo says.

Vincent council recently introduced a 12-month “amnesty” on change of use applications for the main Beaufort Street strip in a bid to fill vacant shopfronts (“Red tape relief for strip”, Voice, July 27, 2019), but Cr Spagnolo wants Stirling to investigate applying the exemption to all its town centres, including its section of Beaufort Street.

“I hope that if the move eventuates that it will stimulate business and provide more variety and bring people back to the area,” he says.

“If this were to proceed initially I would see this being on a trial basis with a view to making it more permanent if the exemption works.”

Recently traders have been leaving the Beaufort Street strip in droves and pressure has been mounting on state and local governments to intervene.

Cr Spagnolo wants city officers to prepare a report on the “change of use” exemption for the September 17 planning and development committee meeting.

by STEPHEN POLLOCK