$165m East Perth Primary gets green light to be built on Queens Gardens carpark site after years of disputes

Plans to build the first public school in East Perth have been given a major boost, with DevelopmentWA giving developmental approval. The $165 million school will eventually accommodate up to 600 students and is situated on the former Queens Gardens car park site. While ground works had already begun, the latest approval will allow for the main construction works to get underway and is forecast to open for students at the beginning of 2029. It will feature a four-storey teaching block, playing fields and courts, as well as a community hall and library. Education Minister Sabine Winton said the project would rejuvenate the area for families. “For the first time in 50 years, Perth children will be able to attend a public primary school in the CBD, ensuring inner-city families have access to a high-quality local education close to home,” she said. But plans for the school have not always been smooth sailing, drawing fierce rebuke from former-Perth Lord Mayor turned Opposition Leader Basil Zempilas over how the Government acquired the land for the project. The State Government passed legislation in 2024 to get the land to build on and pay the City of Perth $4.2 million for lost carpark revenue. But Mr Zempilas claimed the city was owed about $40 million for the land which was never paid. At the time Mr Zempilas said while he supported the building of a school, he thought the Government’s move was a “reckless action”, which set a “dangerous precedent for the future of property rights and property rights owners” in WA. On Wednesday, he said it “was great” they were getting on with it, but that he had not forgotten the ordeal. “I took issue with it, I haven’t forgotten it, I know what happened, I know how they acted, and I was not happy as the Lord Mayor of the city of Perth how the ratepayers of the City of Perth were treated, but I’m not the Lord Mayor now,” he said. The City of Perth’s new Lord Mayor Bruce Reynolds is taking a more supportive approach. “The need for quality education infrastructure to support a growing inner-city population is well understood, and the demand and provision of a new public school in East Perth reflects that growth,” he said. “The City is excited about the opportunity to make East Perth an even more liveable part of our city, and investment in education for young families is something we are genuinely pleased to see. “We will continue to work constructively with the State Government to ensure the project delivers positive outcomes for the community.”