Swanbourne site confirmed for $25m hospice

The state government has handed over 5,000 square-metres of Crown land in Swanbourne to facilitate the development of a $25 million children’s hospice.

For more than a year, Perth Children's Hospital Foundation has been progressing plans to build the state’s first children’s hospice, which will include seven bedrooms, three family suites, communal dining and activity areas, a hydrotherapy pool, therapy rooms and a community garden.

In a search spanning Perth’s western suburbs, the foundation identified Allen Park in Swanbourne as the preferred location; a decision which drew the ire of a small section of the community and members of the City of Nedlands council.

But the state government has backed the plan, partnering with the foundation to deliver the project and allocating $3.8 million to assist with its design and construction.

That support was reaffirmed yesterday, after Premier Mark McGowan confirmed the state government had transferred ownership of the land to the Child and Adolescent Health Service.

He said Swanbourne was the ideal location, surrounded by nature and close to the ocean, and that the hospice would provide a much-needed home away from home for families needing support.

The costs associated with the construction of the facility and its fit out will be borne by the foundation, while the CAHS will be responsible for governance, management and ongoing operational costs.

Perth Children's Hospital Foundation chair Ian Campbell said the project team had further refined the requirements for the hospice and recently revised the architectural concepts, with plans to turn the concepts into formal designs for release later this year.

The foundation hopes to begin construction of the facility early next year in order to ensure it is operational by early 2024, but a development application for the proposal has not yet been lodged.

Former City of Nedlands mayor Cilla de Lacy, who resigned in February, was among those most vocal about the project.

While supportive of the proppsal in principle, she expressed disappointment with the lack of consultation from the state government.

During the city’s two-week public consultation process late last year, more than 98 per cent of the 113 respondents supported the project in principle.

But Swanbourne residents had reservations about the location, with 90 per cent supportive of the project in principle but fewer than half supportive of it proceeding at Allen Park.