Question On Notice No. 6344 asked in the Legislative Assembly on 11 August 2020 by Mr A. Krsticevic
Question Directed to the: Minister for Community Services
Parliament: 40 Session: 1
Question
I refer to your media statement of 15 July 2020, titled "WA’s first Common Ground finds a home in central Perth", and ask:
(a) please provide the addresses of the alternative sites which were
considered for the Perth Common Ground facility and subsequently ruled out;
(b) please provide the reasons why each alternative site was considered less suitable than the Hill/Wellington St location; and
(c) please provide the addresses of the sites which have been
identified as options for the second Common Ground facility?
Answered on 15 September 2020
(a) The Department of Communities (Communities) reviewed the following sites for compatibility against the Common Ground essential and desirable site criteria:
- Lot 801, Hill Street, East Perth.
- Lots 251 and 252, Wellington Street, West Perth.
- Lot 300 Delhi Street, West Perth
- Lots 76-78 Brown Street, East Perth.
(b) All identified sites were evaluated against weighted criteria.
With regard to the four specific properties, the Lot 80, Hill Street site demonstrated optimum alignment when assessed against the Common Ground site criteria, whilst also demonstrating immediate availability.
Lots 251 and 252, Wellington Street site was considered less suitable against the criteria. It presented development challenges, for example a sewer line which would need to be designed around or re-located during building works. This would incur increased costs while also having a negative impact on timeliness for the project build.
Lot 300 Delhi Street site was considered less suitable against the criteria. It was occupied at the time of the site analysis and has a building on site which would need to be demolished to allow for a fit for purpose Common Ground building to be developed. This would increase costs and delay construction commencement.
Lots 76-78 Brown Street site was considered unsuitable as it is currently occupied with a 99-year lease in place.
(c) Communities is engaging with Local Government Authorities (LGAs) to explore opportunities for a second Common Ground facility. The following LGAs have been shortlisted based on estimated homelessness figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics Census of Population and Housing (2016):
(i) Stirling
(ii) Fremantle, and
(iii) Mandurah (for the Peel region).
Communities is engaging with these LGAs to obtain current rough sleeper data and better understand homelessness support requirements within their localities.