Perth City Council plans to boost inner city living in the CBD seem to have borne fruit.
Lord Mayor Peter Nattrass said applications for inner city residential developments had increased fourfold in the past four years.
The PCC has implemented several incentives to attract development.
It cut planning application fees in half for those considering an inner city residential development.
If the development comes to fruition, the fees are cut in half again.
The PCC also brought in a three-year rate holiday for people taking up residence in the CBD.
Dr Nattrass said council was using its influence with the WA Government to try and have charges such as land tax, water rates and stamp duty reduced for people moving into the city.
He said the PCC also aimed to make the city more attractive and secure.
“We are replacing concrete with greenery,” Dr Nattrass said.
The PCC is also working with the WA Police Service and organisations such as CitySafe.
It has put up a network of closed circuit television cameras monitored by council staff who have easy access to police officers.
For the past fifty years, planning emphasis tended to encourage inner city residents to move to the suburbs.
The lure of the great Australian dream – a quarter-acre block in previously undeveloped bushland with exotic names like Greenwood and Willetton – was considerable.
However, with the pace of residential development within the CBD, perhaps the tide is turning.
