The City of Vincent did not vote in June 2025 to remove 40 Guildford Road from its heritage inventory. It reaffirmed a Heritage Conservation Notice for the Mount Lawley house and said it did not support demolition. In March 2026, the Western Australian Planning Commission (WAPC) separately approved demolition as part of a reported 90-dwelling social housing project for people over 55. That approval does not establish that demolition has happened.
What the City decided about 40 Guildford Road
At its June 17, 2025 meeting, the City of Vincent affirmed its earlier decision to issue a Heritage Conservation Notice for the house at 40 Guildford Road, Mount Lawley. The council did not support demolition and asked relevant parties to consider retaining, restoring and integrating the building into the planned housing development. The decision followed an invitation from the State Administrative Tribunal to reconsider the matter, according to the City’s June 17, 2025 minutes.
The distinction matters: the vote affirmed the notice; it was not a vote to withdraw the property from the City’s Municipal Heritage Inventory. The City record identifies the house as Category B – Conservation Recommended in that inventory.
Heritage listing and conservation notice are different
The Municipal Heritage Inventory records the City’s assessment of the place and its heritage category. A Heritage Conservation Notice is a separate instrument. The 2025 council decision dealt with whether to affirm the notice, even though the PerthNow headline described reconsidering plans to withdraw the building from a heritage conservation list.
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The City’s minutes describe the house as “a rare example of a Federation era Arts and Crafts style bungalow residence along Guildford Road, Mount Lawley.” The statement connects it with Mount Lawley’s early development and the Federation-period growth associated with Western Australia’s gold discoveries and eastward railway development. This is the City’s stated heritage significance, rather than an independent architectural assessment.
How the decisions unfolded
| Date | Event | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| 1904 | The house is reported to have been built. PerthNow published a City-attributed photograph from 2004 and described the house as 120 years old in its 2025 coverage. | “120-year-old” is an approximate description, not a current age. PerthNow, June 13, 2025. |
| 2008 | The West Australian later reported that the site entered the City’s Municipal Heritage Inventory; the City record identifies it as Category B – Conservation Recommended. | This inventory status is distinct from the later Heritage Conservation Notice. The West Australian, March 26, 2026; City of Vincent minutes. |
| 2009 | PerthNow reported the City approved demolition of nearby properties for road widening, while the heritage-listed house was excluded. | The house was not among the properties approved for demolition in that reported decision. PerthNow, June 13, 2025. |
| April 23, 2024 | The council refused a request to remove the property from the inventory and resolved to issue a Heritage Conservation Notice requiring conservation work. | The City’s agenda described the State’s Mount Lawley Housing Diversity Pipeline as a redevelopment across a broader nine-property state landholding intended to provide social housing. City of Vincent minutes. |
| June 17, 2025 | The City affirmed its notice decision and said it did not support demolition, encouraging retention, restoration and integration into the development. | This was the City’s action on the notice, not a decision to remove the house from the inventory. City of Vincent minutes. |
| March 18, 2026 | The WAPC approved demolition for a reported 90-dwelling social housing project for people over 55. | This was a later planning decision by a different body. The West Australian reported a proposal to reuse some building materials in a heritage garden; its account does not establish that demolition has started or finished. The West Australian, March 26, 2026. |
Why heritage retention and housing development came into conflict
The dispute set the City’s stated preference to retain and restore a locally significant house against a State-led proposal for social housing. The City’s 2025 minutes describe the project as part of the Mount Lawley Housing Diversity Pipeline and a wider nine-property state landholding. The later planning approval, as reported by The West Australian, covers 90 dwellings for people over 55.
The West Australian reported that 40 submissions were received during advertising: 27 objections, three in support and 10 comments only. Those figures are the newspaper’s account of the consultation, not an independently verified consultation dataset.
PerthNow attributed the phrase “demolition by neglect” should not be “rewarded” to Alison Xamon, who was mayor at the time, in its coverage of the 2024 decision. Separately, The West Australian described the dwelling’s condition through project descriptions; those reports do not amount to an independent inspection or condition assessment.
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What the 2026 approval does—and does not—tell residents
The WAPC approval reported in March 2026 means demolition was approved as part of the housing proposal. It does not show that the house has been demolished, that work has begun, or what conditions or appeal rights apply. The available reporting also does not establish the project’s construction timetable. For those details, the underlying WAPC decision and a dated site update would be needed.
The City’s East Parade Redevelopment Project page provides the City’s project information, while the council minutes document its heritage decision. Neither changes the distinction between that 2025 council position and the WAPC’s later approval as reported by The West Australian.
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