UPDATE JUNE 2019
Work has finally begun on the Bentley 360 project, yet, quite frankly,  frequently unnecessary problems/challenges/surprises continue.  This blog will continue to update on the situation.

Can density and affordability be done well is the question this $700m project is supposed to answer, as Perth and Peel region’s population is projected to be 3.5 million by 2050.

Info, spin?  You decide.

Changing “heart” of those responsible for affordable housing

Peter Tinley was not Premier McGowan’s first choice as Minister for Housing, and it’s showing.  Worse, adverse consequences to doing whatever it takes to pump out affordable housing seem to be emerging. 

Minister, please get suburb where big land deal is going down right!

So Minister for Housing, Peter Tinley, has gone to the market on Dept of Communities (Housing) properties Connect Joondalup and Bentley 360.  The only problem with that is thus far Mr Tinley has focussed more on the Joondalup project – and given the impression the 360 site was in Victoria Park, and wasn’t as big a priority for him…

Minister: 30% of state-of-art infill project to be public housing!

You heard it right, folks! Minister for Housing Peter Tinley, on questioning by The West Australian revealed there will be “no net loss” of public housing from what is now called “Bentley 360” – formerly the Bentley Regeneration Project. That’s a lot of public housing!

Did Dept of Housing spend $1 million on a Community Garden?

Minister for Housing, Peter Tinley, has announced the Bentley 360 project is a “go” and makes various promises, including that “place-management” will apply.  Bentley is traditionally a lower income area (fmr service personnel, aged care, social housing, etc) but today is flocking with investor housing which declines rapidly.  The City of Canning approves of this, but pays little attention to consequences.  Now,  Dept of Communities (Housing) – the major player in the regeneration of Bentley – plans to throw more money at place-making, to be followed by place-management.  It has failed shockingly to date.

Chinese Developers control Canning?

One of the highest viewed posts, this charts how the City of Canning appears to have lost control of a project destined to be a defining moment in how Perth meets the challenges of the future.

Canning kept “poor”?

Bentley is the site of a near billion dollar development, so why is the area being portrayed as multicultural poor town by Canning, the Housing Authority and the community group it manufactured, Bentley Community Focus?

Curtin Game Changer – Cancel the light rail?

Was it wise for Canning to pin a lot of hope on servicing Curtin University, as it develops its CBD area?  Many of the “10,000 homes” boasted of the future on Ch 7’s video are likely to be snapped up by investors, with the presumption being students will occupy them.  But what if Curtin has other plans?