South Girrawheen targeted for redevelopment

7/4/94

South Girrawheen is one of 35 areas targeted for redevelopment in the Coalition's Government's long-term plan to rejuvenate suburbs with a high ratio of public to private housing, Housing Minister Kevin Prince said this week.

The news follows reports that two of Lockridge's infamous high rise developments, Parakoola and Jarvis Court, may be demolished as part of the rejuvenation process.

The Minister said plans were already advanced to transform Lockridge and Kwinana, which he described as planning disasters from the past.  Specific plans to redevelop south Girrawheen have yet to be formulated, but Mr Prince told the Wanneroo Times that the area was a relatively high priority.

"Much of Girrawheen is delightful, but south Girrawheen has long been recognised as a problem housing area with attendant social problems, and that reputation has the effect of dragging down even the better areas," Mr Prince said.

"Redevelopment of a small sector, with the target of reducing Homeswest's rental presence to between 10 and 15 per cent, is designed to give the whole suburb a boost, and if the experience of a similar redevelopment in South Australia is any guide it will add value to private and public areas alike."

Mr Prince explained that redevelopment and a big reduction in the ratio of public housing in the Adelaide suburb of Elizabeth saw the value of blocks increase from $30,000 to $60,000, and more importantly, changed Elizabeth from a suburb with a poor name and reputation to one in which families are happy to live.

The Minister said the Coalition Government was elected on a commitment to better management, which includes addressing the problems of the past.

"The worst public housing areas are no good for the tenants who live there, and no good for the community as a whole.  They concentrate social problems, which leads to high crime rates and vandalism, and while they may well put roofs over the heads of disadvantaged families I would suggest they create far more difficulties than they solve," Mr Prince said.

"It will take time to undo the results of poor planning from two or three decades ago, but we are absolutely determined to get it right.  We are committed to making public housing areas better places to live."

Mr Prince said while Lockridge and Kwinana were his highest priorities, he anticipated that firm proposals for the redevelopment of south Girrawheen would be in place within two years.

The Minister said while it is too early to go into detail, he expects the first areas to be upgraded or redeveloped will be Casserley Avenue, Golders Way and Tendering Way.

"Most of the problems in south Girrawheen are caused by the style of housing," Mr Prince said.

"Two and three-bedroomed family town houses, one and two storeys, built row upon row almost on top of each other, often with back yards looking straight into someone else's front yard, and very little privacy - is not a recipe for a quiet family life, and it is hardly surprising that it has created problems for some of the people living there."

The Casserley Avenue, Golders Way and Tendering Way precinct has 86 such town houses, all built around 1972 when an extensive public housing program was begun. 

Mr Prince said it was intended to carry out similar remodelling and updating in South Girrawheen to that carried out in Elizabeth, where 215 Housing Trust properties including 190 duplexes were remodelled.

Interior layouts were changed, covered parking was provided, and exteriors were enhanced with new picket fences, new rooflines and verandahs, deepened windows and brick paving, while as part of the overall project shopping centres were revamped and new villas built.

The Minister reassured existing tenants in the Girrawheen precinct that they had nothing to fear from redevelopment, and said Homeswest would keep tenants advised of exactly what was happening as planning progresses.

"A prerequisite of any such redevelopment, and something on which I will not compromise, is the well-being of tenants," Mr Prince said.

"That remains Homeswest's first priority in any redevelopment plan - clearly, a major focus of the exercise is to improve conditions for our tenants, and to improve areas where public housing is concentrated for the benefit of the whole community.

"To achieve that end in south Girrawheen, some redeveloped properties may be sold to the public, some may be sold to existing tenants under Homeswest's Right to Buy scheme, some may remain tenanted - nothing is set in concrete, but the bottom line is we are looking at reducing the rental presence and the concentration of public housing in the area, not eliminating it altogether.

"The objective is a win for Homeswest tenants, a win for Girrawheen, and a win for the community."

Media contact:  Tony Barker-May 325 4133 or 222 9595