A plan to turn a neglected patch of land into a parkland oasis for terminally ill children near Perth’s new children’s hospice has stirred community tensions, with some locals insisting the site should remain under council management.
The proposed park would sit on an A-class reserve next to the soon-to-open $34 million children’s hospice in Swanbourne. A-class reserves are highly protected due to their environmental or social value. The Perth Children’s Hospital Foundation, backed by community donors, is leading the project.
Although the final design is yet to be revealed, it’s expected to feature 10,000 new plants and increase tree coverage at the site to 62 per cent.
Council Opposes Private Control
In March, the City of Nedlands formally objected to the park proposal, instead expressing its desire to develop and maintain the land itself. Nedlands Mayor Fiona Argyle argued the council was best suited for the job.
“This land belongs to the community,” she told ABC Radio Perth. “It holds cultural and recreational significance, including a 40,000-year-old Whadjuk Noongar trail and the only public beach access in the area.”
Mayor Argyle said the council would vote this week on a proposal to establish its own nature parkland at the site, with an estimated project cost of around $400,000, partly funded by public donations.
“We want to be good neighbours, but our community doesn’t want to lose access to this park,” she added.
Foundation Defends Plan
Perth Children’s Hospital Foundation chairman Ian Campbell countered that the council had long neglected the reserve and missed its chance to revitalise it.
“We didn’t want children in their final days looking out at a dust bowl,” Mr Campbell said.
He explained that the foundation offered to fund the park’s construction, suggesting the city take on maintenance — an offer he claimed the council rejected due to budget constraints.
“This land has been left in poor condition for 20 years. The government and the foundation have lost faith in the City of Nedlands,” he said, clarifying the park would remain open to the entire public.
State Minister Calls for Resolution
Police Minister Reece Whitby, a former environment minister, expressed disappointment that the dispute hadn’t been settled.
“This is a children’s hospice — for kids in their final weeks and months. Can we please stop arguing?” he said.
Mr Whitby agreed the land had been neglected and found it “strange” the council was resisting a project that had broad community support.
“If they were that concerned, they should have done something about it years ago,” he said.
Controversy Over Council Billboard
This issue follows another recent controversy when the council attracted criticism for a digital billboard on Stirling Highway reading: “Class A Reserves are for future generations. Hands Off”. The sign, which displayed the City of Nedlands logo, reportedly didn’t cost ratepayers, though four councillors opposed its wording.
Mayor Argyle used her casting vote to pass the motion and later clarified that she had never opposed the hospice itself — only the proposed parkland development on adjacent public land.
