Council Offsets Building Fees for My Home Project

On the 15th of December 2021, Fremantle Council voted to approve one-off grant to the My Home project equivalent to the City of Fremantle’s Building Permit Fee, which equates to almost $5000.

The project involves:

• The construction of 18 self-contained single bedroom units on vacant land that is currently part of a railway reserve. 
• The units will provide housing for women over 55 who are experiencing homelessness. 
• Earlier this year Lotterywest announced $2.2 million in funding for the construction of the My Home project.
• Minderoo Foundation is also providing funding for the project, while Rotary WA will assist with the establishment of the gardens and supporting the tenants to furnish their units.
• The North Fremantle site is owned by the Public Transport Authority and St Pats will have a peppercorn lease with the Department of Communities.
• St Pats will allocate the dwellings to clients, and facilitate access to support services to help them sustain their tenancies and live as independently as possible in the community.

Mayor Hannah Fitzhardinge said the City had been strong advocates for the My Home project, stating that:

“The City of Fremantle welcomes any investment in social and community housing because we value the diverse community this helps to create... My Home is a really innovative approach that takes advantage of surplus state government land to provide housing to some of the most vulnerable people in our community".

The key focus areas of the plan are to provide accessible information to people experiencing homelessness about where they can get support; coordinate charity and goodwill groups to ensure services are targeted and to reduce duplication; and to advocate for more investment in affordable housing and homelessness support.

My Home Project supports the work of other programs by the City such as 20 Lives 20 Homes and newly adopted The Homeless Action Plan 2021-2024.