Perth Voice Interactive

IT’S D-Day for a contentious five-storey Highgate development.

The metro central JDAP was  due to decide the fate of the 40-unit complex on Thursday December 15 (“Too high for Highgate Folk”, Voice, November 5).

At the Vincent council meeting on Tuesday, a spokesman for residents opposed to the development presented councillors with a 145-signature petition claiming it didn’t meet the usual 25 per cent landscaping requirement.

The size and scale “would dominate and remove the amenity of Wright Street” petitioners said.

Mayor John Carey says it’s “clearly too much bulk for the site and I believe this is a real test for the DAP”.

”If the DAP approves this it’ll confirm my worst fears about the DAP system, because the city has strongly objected on a number of grounds and it should be taken seriously,” Mr Carey said.

Local member Eleni Evangel agrees, earlier telling the Voice it’s “a gross over-development”.

The DAPs are widely considered “developer friendly” and are populated by three state-appointed experts and two local councillors. Despite applicant Scanlan Architects making some modifications to make it more palatable staff still have recommended the DAP knock it back.

by DAVID BELL

A GEOTECHNICAL report has thrown a spanner in the works for a planned housing development adjacent to the Eric Singleton bird sanctuary.

The Galt Geotechnical report, released by Bayswater council this week, says the ground underneath a block owned by the D’Orazio family is riddled with debris from constructions and demolitions; all sitting on four metres of “weak” Swan alluvial soils that would compress and settle if built on, potentially damaging buildings.

Galt undertook test pitting, borehole drilling and soil penetration tests on behalf of the Dale Alcock-controlled ABN group, and says if the developer follows a raft of measures, the site could be brought up to scratch.

“In its current state, we do not consider that the site [is] suitable for supporting the proposed residential development,” the Galt report says.

The developers would also have to fill the site — mostly a wetland until being filled in the 1980s and 90s — by between 1.5m and 2m to get it above once-in-100-year flood levels.

Galt has recommended a slew of conditions to make the block ready, including layers of limestone, geogrid and gravel across the site, wick drains to draw water out and major filling and compaction.

Large vibrations

“We note that the proposed HIDC compaction technique … has been known to cause large vibrations … to structures in close proximity to the works,” Galt’s report says.

“It is strongly recommended that a dilapidation survey of the nearby structures is carried out prior to the works and that vibration monitoring close to any sensitive receptors be carried out during the works.”

Even after compaction, the site will continue to settle another 3 to 5cm, and Galt says there can be no building within four to six metres of the boundary as a result. The D’Orazios recently offered to increase the buffer between the development and the bird sanctuary by 4.5 metres as a “compromise” to win council and community support.

Independent geotechnical consultant Keith Clements read over the report and says a site this unstable and requiring this much work is “extremely rare”.

It’s currently categorised as “Class P” in the geotech game, and even if Galt’s remediation plan is followed, it’ll be considered “Class M,” two notches below top-grade sites.

That means housing will need extensive stability measures.

In a deputation to council Mr Clements said potential contamination had to be addressed: “This is a health issue for the whole community and has to be dealt with.”  Galt says it is “not clear” if there is any contaminants in the fill.

The report is at http://www.bayswater.wa.gov.au/cproot/7345/2/skippers-row-geotech-report.pdf

by DAVID BELL

A LAST-DITCH attempt by deputy-mayor James Limnios to entice Christmas shoppers into Perth’s CBD with free parking has been stymied.

The council will instead offer free parking during two weekends in January, a compromise suggested by lord mayor Lisa Scaffidi at last month’s council meeting when she sent Cr Limnios’s suggestion back to committee. The free parking will apply to outer car parks, while in the CBD shoppers will pay a flat $5 fee to park all day in car parks. Street parking will be unaffected.

Ms Scaffidi’s recommendation was taken up by staff, who argued retailers needed more help in the sluggish post-Christmas period, but Limnios allies Jemma Green and Reece Harley amended the item at committee to reinstate his original plan.

But it turned out to be an exercise in vain because full council amended it right back to it’s scaled-back form on Tuesday.

At the same meeting, Cr Limnios doubled down with another parking motion, asking the city to investigate free 15-minute bays in retail areas. Fremantle has already introduced the measure as a way of addressing its struggling retail sector.

If successful, the city would have marketed the bays as ‘Stop Hop & Shop’ spots for shoppers grabbing in-and-out items, but it was also blocked by council.

Cr Limnios later said he thought the outcome demonstrated a lack of understanding about grass root problems affecting city retailers.

“I won’t stop listening to the people of Perth … we have a duty to the ratepayers who are struggling,” Cr Limnios said.

by TRILOKESH CHANMUGAM

TRINITY Uniting Church director of music Jangoo Chapkhana promises a mix of contemporary and traditional music and readings to provide a Christmas service with a difference.

Trinity will host a Festival of Lessons and Carols on Sunday 18 December at 10am, as well as Christmas Day celebrations including an Afrikaans service at 8.30am.

Mr Chapkhana said the service will feature “an inspiring mixture of contemporary and traditional hymns” from his renowned chorale Lux et Veritas, which he wrote in 2013.

“When it comes to Christmas services, we often fall into the trap of going into auto-pilot, and we just do it because it is tradition.

“When something is presented in an unfamiliar format it makes us stop and think about the true meaning of Christmas, rather than if listening to the same music and readings,” Mr Chapkhana said.

The choral specialist will also lead the music at the Christmas Day celebrations.

“The Afrikaans and Christmas Day service will be very bright and vibrant and feature guest artist soprano Priscilla Cornelius,” he said.

by CHARLIE SMITH

STIRLING council is on track to meet the objectives of its reconciliation plan says a local elder, although there are still grumbles more could be done to help young people facing racism.

Council officers recently met with indigenous leaders to gather feedback on the plan, which received national recognition earlier this year as the most progressive at the local government level.

Listening

Karl Mourach sits on Stirling’s indigenous working group and says the council’s willingness to listen was a big part of its success.

“Some people have this sort of paternalistic idea that we are to be looked after, but the City of Stirling has been pretty good in always having a group of elders there to bounce ideas off before they go forward with it,” Ms Mourach said.

There were a few angry voices at the forum calling on the government to do more to help Aboriginal people get jobs and achieve equal education outcomes, but Ms Mourach said reflecting on the small victories made sure the forum ended on a positive note.

“Sometimes like, if they make a mistake, there are some people from our side of the fence who jump up and down and expect a bit more,” Ms Mourach said.

“Small successes were what we built on.”

“It’s going pretty well, they’re on track according to the plan…it takes small steps.”

Stirling’s community services manager Chris Brereton says the council has worked hard to support Aboriginal people in having control over their destiny.

“It’s not the City of Stirling’s job to run mentorship programs for Aboriginal people, it’s actual Aboriginal people running the programs and running the tours. Our role is to empower and support the teams to achieve their own objectives rather than our objectives,” Mr Brereton said.

Some of these initiatives include the Mooro Tours, popular among tourists who flock for a bit of genuine education about Noongar culture; and oral history interviews with elders which are now preserved at Mount Flora museum.

Mr Brereton also recognised the enormous task that lay ahead.

“It takes time to undo the lack of trust that’s been there for years”, Mr Bereton said.

“Some people who attended the forum thought we’d not done enough; some young Aboriginal people who are still facing racism and other challenges.

“It would be wildly idealistic for us to try solve the problems that governments have worked on for years in a short period of time, but we’re making ground.”

by TRILOKESH CHANMUGAM

BAYSWATER council will open the ailing Maylands Waterland earlier in an attempt to boost patronage.

After pressure from families who want to bring the younguns out before it gets too warm, Waterland will now open at 9am during the school holidays and on weekends.

A council report cited research that young children love a mid-morning nap so the current 10am start meant they could be swimming just as they were getting sleepy.

Eliaz Pik from the Improving Maylands group had been pushing for the change and announced the news on his group’s Facebook page, pointing out that nearly half of the people using Waterlands show up between 10am and 11am, suggesting early swimming is in high demand. It’ll cost an extra $6000 to open earlier.

The city’s consultation with locals over whether (and how) to keep Waterland open after this season is ongoing. All the info on that is at engage.bayswater.wa.gov.au and the council will make a decision about whether to pump in the necessary millions to keep it going early next year.

A LANEWAY in Perth has been named after the Pilpel family of stationers, who have spent years trying to get their contribution to business in the city recognised.

Although the Pilpel’s iconic blue and white print shop on Beaufort Street was sold earlier this year, the three generations of the family who tillered the company for almost 90 years will be recognised in the adjacent laneway which now bears their name.

Joshua Pilpel immigrated to WA from Palestine as Joshua Philphil in 1911 and was almost immediately employed by wholesale stationers Detmold Ltd.

He had his surname anglicised, and in 1927 opened his own printery in the rented loft of a hardware warehouse off Murray Street, using borrowed capital and small reserves. Against all odds, the company flourished during the Depression, with Joshua and his staff of three working long hours and eventually securing contracts from government departments, the medical profession, and UWA’s Pelican newspaper.

Joshua’s son Richard entered the business in 1948, and the pair’s tenacity kept the print shop afloat even when the elder Pilpel went blind.

Geoff, the third generation of Pilpel, joined the family business in 1978 and 20 years later the stationers moved to the factory at 148 Beaufort Street.

Richard won a print industry award for outstanding service in 2006 and an Order of Australia for contribution to the Jewish community two years later, but says he always dreamed of having his father’s early contribution to Perth commerce recognised.

He wrote to lord mayor Lisa Scaffidi in 2009, and while she passed it on to the geographic names committee, a suitable place couldn’t be found, so the family had to nominate the privately-owned laneway next to the shop and pay for the sign.

“The naming of Pilpel Lane is recognition of the 89 years of business in the City of Perth in which three generations of Pilpels have served the corporate sector and local community of Perth,” Geoff said.

by TRILOKESH CHANMUGAM

“LIKE termites in blocks of flats” is Subiaco councillor and independent state candidate Julie Matheson’s description of apartment dwellers.

Ms Matheson made the comment during a tit-for-tat debate on the Voice’s Facebook page with Perth councillor Reece Harley over new plans for a seven-storey apartment block on the Inglewood section of Beaufort Street.

“Looks good. Seven storeys is the height of much of Paris,” Cr Harley wrote of the Doepel March Architects design.

“We can develop boulevards throughout the metro area that take this kind of density and reduce pressure on infill in existing single storey suburbs.”

But Ms Matheson, an ardent critic of state-controlled development assessment panels which she sees as a lax gatekeeper waving through over-sized apartment projects, disagreed: ”If you want Paris, go to Paris. We are Perth and don’t want to live like termites in blocks of flats.”

Mr Harley, who lives in an apartment himself, says; “we are not termites, we simply desire to live in good areas and smaller spaces. Not everyone can afford to live in a large federation property a stone’s throw from the city and Kings Park.

“Families with tighter budgets deserve to be able to live in good areas as well. Well designed apartments in central locations provide that equality of opportunity and increased mobility”.

Sam Reece from WA Apartment Advocacy weighed in to the debate, saying she was “sick and tired of the comments that apartments are slums… choice is good and it is no one’s right to choose on behalf of others”.

A long-time property sector commentator, Ms Reece says she started up the advocacy group this year after growing tired of apartment grumbles.

“It’s a not-for profit, I started it, I fund it myself. I saw what was happening: I was seeing these very small minority groups in South Perth and Cottesloe, and I knew there were people out there supporting apartment living but they’re not engaging in the dialogue … the idea behind WAAA is to get the silent majority to start speaking up”.

With Ms Matheson running for government under her new party Julie Matheson for WA, Mr Harley added “I’m not sure that someone with your views, and flippant disregard for the tens of thousands of Western Australians who live in apartments should be in the state parliament having control over metropolitan planning rules”.

The full barney’s up on The Perth Voice Facebook page on the article “Seven-storey Inglewood alarms locals”.

by DAVID BELL