Northbridge women’s shelter recommended for approval amid concerns minister will overrule rejection

City of Perth councillors have been advised to greenlight a controversial overnight women’s shelter on James Street - despite public opposition from Lord Mayor Basil Zempilas - because doing so would allow the council to retain some control over its operation.

The recommendation from council planning officers cites a 2022 move by then-Planning Minister Rita Saffioti to overrule the council after it refused Ruah Community Services’ original application to run a daytime engagement hub for homeless people at the same Northbridge site.

Ruah is now applying to extend operating hours from 7pm to 7am so it can run a night service for vulnerable women forced onto the street following the closure of the Safe Night Space program.

Safe Night Space was an initiative of the City of Perth that ran for two and a half years out of the Rod Evans Community Centre in East Perth.

Faced with complaints of anti-social behaviour from nearby residents, and after a request for State Government funding to help run the service was rejected, Perth councillors voted last February to wind the program up at the end of November.

Three weeks before the planned closure the Cook Government offered $3.1 million to keep Safe Night Space operational but the lifeline was rejected, with Mr Zempilas saying it came too late and a commitment had already been made to return the Rod Evans centre to the community.

Ruah subsequently applied to shift Safe Night Space to its existing James Street hub, a site Mr Zempilas has said is unsuitable because of its location in the Northbridge entertainment precinct.

The issue has ignited a long-running war of words between Mr Zempilas and the Labor Government, which two years ago overruled the City of Perth when councillors first voted to refuse Ruah’s request to relocate its daytime homelessness hub to James Street.

Planning officers have now recommended Safe Night Space be permitted to run at the James Street site for 30 months, pointing out approving the service could give the City more power to enforce conditions.

The advice is contained in documents prepared for an agenda briefing session on Tuesday evening, ahead of councillors voting on Ruah’s application later this month.

“Given the current approval for the Ruah Engagement Hub was issued by the Minister, the City has limited ability to enforce the current management plan,” planning officers wrote.

“However, if this application is approved by Council, it will allow the City to enforce the new management plan for the Safe Night Space, during the time-limited approval (30 months) for the use.

“This could assist in addressing any current amenity impacts on adjoining residential properties.”

Staff said the minister — now John Carey — could again overrule the council if he determined it was an issue of State importance.

Mr Zempilas said Council’s decision would be informed by a briefing session, during which they would hear from the community.

“I expect a big number of ratepayers and stakeholders will come forward on Tuesday night to give us a sense of how they feel about the proposal,” he said.

While City staff had recommended approval of the original Ruah service in 2022, the lord mayor said recent the closure of the nearby Best Western Apartments hotel had vindicated council’s attempt to block the service.

“The consequences of that decision and a lack of respect and empathy for the views of community and the local government that supports that community has been borne out,” Mr Zempilas said.

Mr Carey — who is also the local MP for Perth — defended Ruah, and said the organisation had been providing an important service for 60 years.

One-star Google reviews of the hotel — which has an overall rating of 4.1 — do not mention the homeless service, instead complaining about matters such as the lift not working, the friendliness of staff and cleanliness.

Those who complained about noise were more likely to do so in relation to the nearby police station.

Best Western hotel owner Daniel Godoy said in a radio interview that “Ruah killed my business” but during the same interview he said there was “combination” of factors and “I’m not going to say it’s all Ruah”.