THE Village Northbridge community development hub may go ahead despite the City of Perth’s initial opposition to the project.
THE Village Northbridge community development hub may go ahead despite the City of Perth’s initial opposition to the project.
The development was one of 21 community revitalisation recommendations contained in the Village Northbridge Community Development Plan, prepared for East Perth Redevelopment Authority by social planners Creating Communities.
The plan proposed locating the community hub development along Newcastle Street, between William and Lake streets, and contained a multi-purpose community house, affordable housing units and the Women’s Health Care House.
The plan suggested the City of Perth and the Town of Vincent pick up between $70,000 and $100,000 in management costs each year.
The City of Perth council objected to the recommendation on grounds of cost, unnecessary duplication of services, insufficient consultation with the city and that the development could create a division between the new Village Northbridge and ‘old’ Northbridge areas. Town of Vincent is to consider the plan next week.
EPRA chief executive Tony Morgan said the community hub proposal was yet to be finalised by the authority and issues such as location, funding, management, use and integration had not been clarified.
“We believe it is a project that warrants the support of the City of Perth and Town of Vincent, but we have to prove up that there is a demand for it; it is a matter of fleshing out the detail,” he said.
Mr Morgan said he understood funding and ongoing management costs were key issues for local government and that EPRA would be examining other funding structures.
“We are yet to apply for funding and depending on future tenants. It may be that there are no extra costs to local government authorities,” he said.
Creating Communities director Donna Shepherd said the key message that came out of 20 community workshops and 70 meetings with key stakeholders in Northbridge was that the community wanted a building where the community could focus and meet.
“We even had difficulty when conducting workshops. We were meeting in restaurants and basements,” she said.
“There is not a lot of space available for public meetings.”
Mr Morgan said one of the core needs identified by the community was getting the key stakeholders to work together.
Local resident Andrew Main, who was involved with several of the community workshops, said the plan was reflective of the broader views of Northbridge.
“The plan was developed with the Northbridge people, there is no reason why the plan could not be developed into a City of Perth document apart from the fact that egos are in the way,” he said.
“A lot of people think that the City of Perth was a bit slow in developing a Northbridge action plan and are playing catch-up with EPRA.”
Councillor Bert Tudori said the plan was an example of the way EPRA operated.
“We have had no say in the design or in the roads, it is an example of the nasty mess they leave us with all the time,” he said.
