Wheely big concerns

by Glenn Roscoe

April 18, 2008

SOUTH PERTH residents have expressed mixed views toward this week’s announcement a giant ferris wheel may rise, across the brine from them, on the north bank of the Swan.
 
Planned for construction in June, the 60m high observation wheel has been pencilled in west of the Perth Bell Tower, and in direct view of many South Perth homes.
 
South Perthite Dean Price gave the proposal his two thumbs’ down.

“It’s plainly going to be an eyesore,” he said. “Many of the home owners here have spent considerable amounts of money securing a view of the river and skyline, only to have the chance of it being obstructed by an oversized cart wheel.
 
“How can they expect the idea of Perth as a tourist destination to grow by introducing such a tacky development?”
 
Fortunately, for one of the wheel’s biggest supporters, Perth lord mayor Lisa Scaffidi, not all southsiders were so concerned.
 
Danielle Barrett has lived on Mill Point road for seven years, and thinks the wheel is a great opportunity for Perth.
 
“Having an attraction would draw people to the foreshore and the opportunity for related activities is immense,” she said. “We already have a lot of festivals and market days in the area and the opportunity for more of these surely cannot be a bad thing.”
 
Kane White, who works at South Perth described the proposal as nothing more than a distraction from the WA government’s and local councils’ failure to energise the riverfront.