Council slammed for opposing park plan for terminally ill children next to hospice
Your web browser is no longer supported. To improve your experience update it here It's a small slice of land in Perth 's west creating a big problem. Planning and Lands Minister John Carey today stepped in and overruled the City of Nedlands in their decision to oppose plans to turn the Swanborne land, located next to a children's hospice, into a park for terminally ill kids. "I've not seen anything like it, I think Nedlands is one of the worst councils in Western Australia," Carey said. WA Planning and Lands Minister John Carey stepped in and overruled the City of Nedlands' decision to oppose plans to turn land next to a children's hospice, into a park for terminally ill kids. (9News) Carey moved in to take the land at Allen Park off council hands. "This is the right decision," he said. "It is a damning indictment of the Nedlands council and their opposition to both the hospice and now this park." The Perth Children's Hospital Foundation is building the hospice, which will be ready for terminally ill children from mid-next year. The Perth Children's Hospital Foundation is building the hospice, which will be ready for terminally ill children from mid-next year. (9News) "We are delighted that the City of Nedlands has been made irrelevant and we can get on with building a beautiful native bushland," Ian Campbell from Perth Children's Hospital Foundation said. "They have been an amazing irritation, just like a mosquito that won't go away." The patch of land is just 3000 square metres, which is roughly the size of two-and-a-half Olympic swimming pools. Despite multiple attempts, the City of Nedlands refused to answer our questions or talk on camera today. WA Planning and Lands Minister John Carey will put the motion before parliament in 10 days time to make the area state land. (9News) Instead releasing a text message statement, saying "the community has expressed concern regarding the bushfire zone and ensuring public access through Allen Park to the beach at all times". Carey labelled it "nimby-ism gone mad". "It makes absolutely no sense to want to keep a barren land there instead of a beautiful garden that will serve families and sick and dying children," he said. The Minister will put the motion before parliament in 10 days time. After 2 weeks, if no one disagrees, land ownership will change and become state land. A motion the opposition says it supports. Western Australia
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9 News
9 hours ago
- 9 News
Council slammed for opposing park plan for terminally ill children next to hospice
Your web browser is no longer supported. To improve your experience update it here It's a small slice of land in Perth 's west creating a big problem. Planning and Lands Minister John Carey today stepped in and overruled the City of Nedlands in their decision to oppose plans to turn the Swanborne land, located next to a children's hospice, into a park for terminally ill kids. "I've not seen anything like it, I think Nedlands is one of the worst councils in Western Australia," Carey said. WA Planning and Lands Minister John Carey stepped in and overruled the City of Nedlands' decision to oppose plans to turn land next to a children's hospice, into a park for terminally ill kids. (9News) Carey moved in to take the land at Allen Park off council hands. "This is the right decision," he said. "It is a damning indictment of the Nedlands council and their opposition to both the hospice and now this park." The Perth Children's Hospital Foundation is building the hospice, which will be ready for terminally ill children from mid-next year. The Perth Children's Hospital Foundation is building the hospice, which will be ready for terminally ill children from mid-next year. (9News) "We are delighted that the City of Nedlands has been made irrelevant and we can get on with building a beautiful native bushland," Ian Campbell from Perth Children's Hospital Foundation said. "They have been an amazing irritation, just like a mosquito that won't go away." The patch of land is just 3000 square metres, which is roughly the size of two-and-a-half Olympic swimming pools. Despite multiple attempts, the City of Nedlands refused to answer our questions or talk on camera today. WA Planning and Lands Minister John Carey will put the motion before parliament in 10 days time to make the area state land. (9News) Instead releasing a text message statement, saying "the community has expressed concern regarding the bushfire zone and ensuring public access through Allen Park to the beach at all times". Carey labelled it "nimby-ism gone mad". "It makes absolutely no sense to want to keep a barren land there instead of a beautiful garden that will serve families and sick and dying children," he said. The Minister will put the motion before parliament in 10 days time. After 2 weeks, if no one disagrees, land ownership will change and become state land. A motion the opposition says it supports. Western Australia Perth hospitals Politics council CONTACT US
West Australian
11 hours ago
- West Australian
City of Nedlands says it welcomes hospice opening after Minister excises land
The City of Nedlands has defended its handling of the parkland surrounding the planned Swanbourne children's hospice after it emerged WA's Lands Minister was planning to excise the area from its control. The West Australian revealed on Saturday John Carey would use his power as minister to take control of Allen Park after the local authority blocked the Perth Children's Hospital Foundation's $4 million offer to transform the area into a better, greener view for sick and dying kids. In a statement to The Sunday Times, a City of Nedlands spokesperson said as part of the hospice development approval the council was required to maintain low vegetation on the land proposed for excision, because it was in the key bushfire protection zone. 'The State Government's own bushfire peer review report recommended against the PCHF landscape plan as it compromised the integrity of the bushfire zone,' the spokesperson said. 'The community have expressed concern regarding the bushfire zone and ensuring public access through Allen Park to the beach at all times. 'The city hopes these matters will be considered in the final plan and welcomes the opening of the hospice which will provide valuable support and care for the sick children and their families.' The spokesperson also said the city had emphasised the importance of preserving Class A reserves for future generations, the Bush to Beach Whadjuk Trail, and the management of parks and reserves. On Saturday, Mr Carey called the city 'one of the worst' councils in WA, adding it had 'lost its heart'. '...They have gone out of their way to oppose the hospice, to make it difficult, and now to oppose a beautiful park for dying children,' he said. 'I have to say this: go out and see the land, they've been fixated on this idea . . . go out to the land, it's a dirt bowl.' The excision will have to be put to Parliament on the next sitting day — June 17 — where both houses will have 14 days to pass a disallowance motion in opposition. The Opposition has indicated it will support the move by Mr Carey. Perth Children's Hospital Foundation will now spend $4 million to rehabilitate the park and build a play area.
ABC News
19 hours ago
- ABC News
WA government takes control of land next to children's hospice to allow development of 'a beautiful park'
The WA government has moved to take control of land next to the new children's hospice in Swanbourne from the City of Nedlands, after the council opposed plans to turn it into a parkland for terminally-ill children. The Perth Children's Hospital Foundation's plans to transform what it called a 'dust bowl' into a green oasis were blocked by the council, which owns Allen Park. The Lands Minister John Carey has moved to excise 3,000 square metres of land at Allen Park from council control, pending a motion in state parliament in the middle of this month. That would pave the way for the PCH Foundation's $4million plans to create a green space next to Boodja Mia, a $34 million respite and palliative care centre for children, due to be completed later this year. The City of Nedlands Council opposed the proposed park development, saying it wanted to build its own park on the A-Class reserve. A-Class classifications are used to protect areas of high conservation or high community value, but Mr Carey argued the council had not been maintaining the land in "any meaningful way". "It is a dustbowl. The Nedlands council have done nothing with this land and then right at the last minute they've said they do have a plan," Mr Carey said. "For the City of Nedlands to make some sort of claim that this land is of any significant or extraordinary value is simply false." The project will include the planting of up to 10,000 native plants, boosting tree canopy at the site to 62 per cent. Mr Carey said the park would be open to the public while also catering to patients and their families at the nearby hospice centre. The City of Nedlands has been contacted for comment.
