Neighbours of a short-stay hotel earmarked for public housing in Perth’s CBD are calling on the WA government to hold open forums to hear their concerns, which they say range from parking to antisocial behaviour.
Nearby residents gathered outside Fraser Suites in East Perth on Saturday morning to protest against the plan to convert the 19-storey tower into 236 social and affordable units.
Three other apartment blocks in the Queens Riverside complex will remain private.
Those owners, including resident Ben Stephenson, fear the hotel suites are not designed for long-term living and that common areas will come under strain.
Ben Stephenson is a resident of the Queens Riverside strata complex, which includes Fraser Suites. (ABC News: Rebecca Trigger)
“The more people you get in an area it can become a bit rowdy and become unpleasant for people who don’t like that volume of people in one particular area,” he said.
Residents have also raised concerns the plan could result in antisocial behaviour and impact the price of their homes.
Mr Stephenson said the Department of Communities had been meeting with residents in groups of six to eight people in 20 minute blocks.
He said the process was not working and called for bigger Q+A forums to be held so residents’ concerns can be heard.
The Fraser Suites building in East Perth has been acquired by the state government for social housing. (ABC News: Keane Bourke)
‘Genuine’ security concerns
Clay Taboni, who lives in the Queens Riverside complex, which includes Fraser Suites, raised concerns about parking and security.
“The hotel had pretty good security, they had a 24-hour concierge, which stopped any sort of misbehaviour from transient people or people that live here,” Mr Taboni said.
“That will be diminished, I think, and so there are some genuine concerns about safety.”
Clay Taboni says the hotel is not fit for purpose for long-term stays. (ABC News: Rebecca Trigger)
Mr Taboni said residents were concerned the building was not fit-for-purpose for long-term accommodation.
Mr Taboni said many residents felt there had been a “deliberate attempt” to keep them in the dark about the government’s plan to acquire the building.
Residents who had attended consultation sessions had described them as a “talk-fest” that provided “very little time for true consultation”, he said.
“They were told ‘this is how it’s going to be’ and had little chance to ask or answer questions,”
he said.
He said a bigger number of people should be able to attend the sessions and called for “greater transparency” around what is being planned.
‘Meaningful conversations’: Minister
Housing Minister John Carey pushed back on claims there had not been proper consultation, stating he had personally been involved in two full days of “direct engagement” with local residents to talk about their concerns.
Housing Minister John Carey says residents had been given plenty of opportunities to ask questions. (ABC News: Keane Bourke)
“I’ve had actually quite a lot of positive feedback,” Mr Carey told reporters after the latest round of community consultations.
“It’s providing direct engagement. Where you’ve got around 10 people in a room, you can actually have real and meaningful conversations.”
Curly problem as $105m social housing deal upsets neighbours
He rejected calls for a large, open question-and-answer session, saying there was a “small but loud” group of “angry” residents who wanted “to use every opportunity to protest”.
The minister said the complex would comprise of about 70 per cent affordable housing and 30 per cent social housing, including homes for women over the age of 55 at risk of homelessness.
“I respectfully do not accept the view that the city should not have its fair share of both social housing and affordable housing given the critical demand that we face in Western Australia right now,” Mr Carey added.
“This idea that we shouldn’t be enabling affordable rentals in the heart of the city is just wrong.”
The department will establish a reference group for the project, which will include members of the community, to facilitate ongoing consultation.
Homes desperately needed
Shelter WA chief executive officer Kath Snell said she was glad residents could express their opinions during information sessions.
Shelter WA chief executive Kath Snell says the homes are desperately needed amid a deepening housing crisis. (ABC News: Rebecca Trigger)
But as the peak body for homelessness and community housing in WA, she said the delivery of more homes was essential.
“This is a perfect example of re-purposing something that can be turned around quite quickly,”
Ms Snell said.
“So, we’re really delighted with this announcement.”
Ms Snell did not criticise the local opponents to the project but was hopeful people would embrace social and affordable housing across the suburbs.
“We need more of both … It’s a really tough market out there.
“This is giving us some more supply. So we’d really like to see communities better understanding what social and affordable housing is so they can welcome it into their neighbourhoods.”
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