PCHF hospice to start construction at Allen Park next week despite being hit with new site challenges

Construction could start as early as next week on WA’s first children’s hospice — but new challenges arising over land access could result in delays and multimillion-dollar setbacks for the development. Perth Children Hospital Foundation confirmed it had received a building permit to begin construction on its state-of-the-art facility in Swanbourne’s Allen Park. It also announced this week the hospice will be built by West to West Group — the business behind the current Rottnest Lodge resort redevelopment, as well as luxury apartment complex Serai in North Fremantle, which like the hospice is being built to take in the beauty of the Indian Ocean. “Overwhelmingly, we’re really excited,” PCHF chairperson Ian Campbell told PerthNow on Wednesday. “After all the delays in getting approvals ... we’re excited to finally get on site to start digging holes and laying concrete.” West to West Group general manager of construction Adam Harvey said they were building more than a physical structure. “It will be a sanctuary of respite, where sick kids and their families can find comfort and community through purpose-designed facilities,” he said. “We fully understand the significance of this project, which aims to enhance the quality of life for terminally ill children and their families. “This deeply resonates with our team at West to West Group and has fuelled our commitment and passion for the project.” The hospice, which has now reached almost $35 million in funding, will become a “home away from home” for some of WA’s sickest kids. It will include seven single-guest bedrooms, three family suites and a bereavement suite. Mr Campbell said the project was facing further delays after they were refused permission to use part of the park as a temporary holding space for building materials and construction huts. “It’s actually going to impose a lot of costs and inconvenience on the project,” Mr Campbell said. “It’s going to mean a lot less carparking for the public .... It means a crane has to go in there and a lot of the heavy building materials will have to be handled twice, which is incredibly inefficient. “We think this lack of access to this small parcel of land to the south will delay the project by three or four months ... and it’s going to be a multi-million dollar impact on the budget.” He said every delay made it likely that sick and dying children would miss out on accessing the hospice. “It’s probably about 100 kids who’ll never get to use it, and that’s 100 families,” he said. “So its a pretty tragic human consequence.” Mr Campbell said he was hoping to work with the City of Nedlands to hopefully resolve the issue. “(The city) hasn’t accepted our arguments as of yet, but we’re going to seek to go back there ... to see if we can resolve it,” he said. “But in the meantime, we’re going to get on with what we can do ... and it is highly likely that construction will commence next week, which is incredibly exciting.” The City of Nedlands was contacted for comment.