Perth Voice Interactive

THE “Prince of Flesh” is spearheading a campaign to set up night markets in Inglewood.

Mondo’s Vince Garreffa wants the suburb’s neglected laneways brimming with food and art stalls.

The legendary butcher, who served Prince Philip a snag on a recent Royal visit, is recruiting local business owners to form an Inglewood business network.

It would work with Stirling city council to progress the markets and look at other ways to improve the suburb.

“Inglewood is a sleeping giant and has lots of space and land to work with, unlike further down Beaufort Street in Mt Lawley where it is clogged and packed with traffic,” Mr Garreffa says: “Improving lighting in the area would be a start and make it safer and more conducive to night time markets and other activities.

“We also need signs to make people aware that they can park in bus lanes at night when they want to go out to a restaurant and socialise.”

“Inglewood is a sleeping giant and has lots of space and land to work with”

He says the Inglewood association will complement the Beaufort Street Network, which he believes is focused on the Mt Lawley-Highgate end.

The markets are part of a wider push by Stirling council to realise the full potential of a 2.8km section of Beaufort Street—known as an “activity corridor”—that stretches from Walcott to Salisbury Streets.

Around 70 people turned out to the Civic Hotel Monday night for the first in a series of meetings about improving the street. Speakers at the “charrette” included Californian architect Stefanos Polyzoides and Melbourne urban designer Chip Kaufman.

Beaufort Street is currently being widened as part of a trial to create a bus route that will ultimately extend through Perth and to UWA and the QEII medical centre. The year-long roadworks have irked some traders (“Trading pains,” Voice, March 29, 2014).

Cr Terry Tyzack says consistency in road signage through Mt Lawley and Inglewood would make it easier for drivers to know where they could park and for how long.

Stirling council looks set to lose Inglewood to a merged and enlarged Bayswater-Bassendean super-council under the Barnett government’s controversial boundary reforms.

by STEPHEN POLLOCK

STAFF at Vincent council are being asked to use one of two new electric bikes to get to and from nearby meetings.

Mayor John Carey says it’s an “innovative” way to cut carbon pollution and traffic congestion and save on unnecessary fuel costs.

“We are always looking at ways of saving energy and being more environmentally conscious,” he says.

Most meetings that Vincent staff attend are within 5km of the council’s Leederville HQ.

The bikes cost $5000—they were bought using a WA government healthier workplaces grant—and form part of the council’s TravelSmart plan, which aims to reduce single car occupancy by getting more workers walking, cycling, carpooling and using public transport.

The bikes’ use will be reviewed in 12 months.

by STEPHEN POLLOCK

THE Cardinals junior football club will move part of its operation to Charles Veryard Reserve in North Perth, following community opposition to plans to redevelop Menzies Park in Mt Hawthorn.

Club president Scott Robinson says the juniors club is growing rapidly, with 500 children now on board, most of them from Vincent.

The club had been keen to redevelop its Menzies Park home with new night training lights, a scoreboard, cricket nets and a bigger oval, but 75 locals signed a protest petition.

The club and Vincent city council came to a compromise and the council will now spend $78,000 upgrading Charles Veryard on Bourke Street, a few blocks from Leederville Oval, with a new fence and floodlights so the Cardinals can move games there two days a week.

Come the mid-year budget the council will consider spending another $320,000 or so for change rooms, storage and a scoreboard.

Mr Robinson fully supports the decision, but some locals still aren’t keen.

The Voice received an anonymous flyer this week complaining, “the rights of residents and ratepayers to use the reserve for their leisure and enjoyment will take a ‘back seat’ to the football club”.

The scaredy cat author is also worried about a “hundred-fold increase in vehicular traffic” and “noise created by hundreds of people in the reserve, cars, sirens, whistles, cheering and jeering players and spectators will permeate into your home and outdoor spaces”.

Mayor John Carey is disappointed the flyer was put out anonymously, as he’s happy to meet with anyone concerned.

He says the flyer is full of blatant errors, including that the park will turn “into a full time football ground,” when the Cardinals will actually only be there two days a week.

“This is someone maliciously trying to stir up unnecessary conflict,” he says.

The mayor says Charles Veryard Reserve is drastically underutilised and it makes sense to share the load between the parks: “This is our second largest sporting field in Vincent that’s being used two days a week.”

by DAVID BELL

WIKILEAKS candidate Tibor Meszaros says he has no ethical qualms about adverts promoting his Senate campaign on West TV, where he works as a director and station manager.

Mr Meszaros says the WikiLeaks Party is paying four-figure sums for the campaign ads— spruiking him and fellow candidate Lucy Nicol—on the community TV channel.

The ads are fronted by former WikiLeaks senate candidate Gerry Georgatos, who abruptly quit last month.

Mr Meszaros says no other political party has advertised on West TV for today’s April 5 Senate re-election, despite being approached.

The Greens, Liberal and Labor parties had ads on the station during the state election build-up last year.

“I don’t see any ethical problem with me working at the same station I advertise on: all the ads have been paid for by the WikiLeaks Party,” Mr Meszaros says.

“It would be different if I was getting free advertising.

“What’s galling is the biased coverage shown towards the Liberal and Labor candidates in WA newspapers: they get huge photos and spreads while other candidates like Scott Ludlam get a photo the size of a postage stamp.”

The WikiLeaks Party, which has secured the valuable number one position on the massive senate ballet—giving it the opportunity to benefit from donkey-voters—has pledged its preferences to the Greens, boosting Senator Ludlam’s chances of retaining his seat.

Last year Mr Georgatos controversially preferenced the Nationals ahead of the Greens, which he used to belong to but fell out with following preselection controversies.

by STEPHEN POLLOCK

THREE free(ish) pieces of public art won’t be coming to Vincent after all, with the artists planning to instead sell Crab Riders to Melbourne city council.

Eastern states artists Gillie and Marc had offered the crabs on loan to Vincent for free, plus $10,500 in transport and installation costs.

Councillors grew worried as the costs kept going north, but due to a badly written contract Vincent was liable to pay any extra cash the artists asked for. Despite that gaping flaw the contract cost the council $3025 to draw up. Ka-ching.

Councillors had been seeking more information (and wanted to see a copy of the contract) but now the artists say Melbourne council will buy the work, and they’re keen to cancel the loan contract with Vincent.

Mayor John Carey says the $3000 document fee plus the other costs could have been put towards a bought piece.

Cr Josh Topelberg says it’s been a learning experience for all involved: “The process has been difficult to say the least.”

by DAVID BELL

FIERCE opposition from neighbours has resulted in the withdrawal of an application to knock down a 1940s cottage on Bayswater’s Kennedy Street and replace it with a two-storey building.

Locals were up in arms about a nine-unit complex planned for their quiet street and submitted a 92-signature protest petition.

The site is flanked by homes built between 1912 and 1936.

Lead petitioner Brian Clohesy—who lives across the road—says high-density is inappropriate for the harmonious cul-de-sac.

“We were concerned about increased traffic, parking congestion and the demolition of a 1940s house which has heritage value,” he says.

“We all thought this area was zoned R40 and had no idea the Barnett government bundled through R60 zoning in the metro area last year.

“This stealthy plan was designed to infill along main routes and train lines, but now it’s even affecting quiet suburban streets.”

Mount Lawley Society president Bruce Wooldridge says the home, which falls just inside the Bayswater council boundary, would receive better protection if it was in Stirling.

“Under Stirling’s heritage protection area regime, properties built before 1960 have effective protection from demolition,” he says.

“It would be very unlikely that this property would be in jeopardy if it was in Menora or Inglewood, in Stirling’s [heritage protection area].

“Bayswater’s heritage protection policies sadly are only effective for a handful of properties, with wording that does not encourage the retention of heritage properties in development applications.”

Last month Bayswater council approved the demolition of two similar era houses on Guildford Road.

Stung by criticism it is not heritage friendly, the council has since voted to introduce guidelines for its section of Mt Lawley as watertight as Stirling’s long-standing policy.

by STEPHEN POLLOCK