What’s happening here? Do we need a law to protect uncared for buildings?

Freo Today. 2 December 2024. Folk wander along High Street, gazing at the lovely old turn-of-the-20th Century buildings, and then find themselves confronted by 91 High Street. How come? they ask themselves. Where did this ugly, squat, set back, 70s building come from? And why is such a derelict mess allowed to remain at 91 High Street today? And finally, who is the owner, and what are they doing about it? Something of the background story to the current building’s existence is to be found in the late Garry Gillard’s Freotopia. In short, in 1905 the Davies Building, then at 85-89 High Street, was erected. Sometime later the whole Davies Building was divided in two and the eastern half – the present 91 High Street – fell into the ownership of the WA Government-owned Totalisator Agency Board. It is unclear to us, but at some point the eastern half of the 1905 Davies Building was demolished and replaced with the monstrosity that now squats at 91 High Street. The strange set back of the building from High Street is to be explained by the threatened widening of High Street around the time the squat building was proposed in the 1970s – can you believe it – which widening fortunately never happened. ‘Except’, as Garry Gillard put it, ‘on this one site’. The adjacent, western half of the original Davies Building remains in use for commercial and residential purposes. It gives you an idea of what was lost. As Garry also wrote of the 91 High Street story: “It is a salutary reminder of what ‘development’ and ‘progress’ may bring. It would be funny if it weren’t such a disgrace.” And here it is today in a more disgraceful state than ever with no one seemingly occupying or using the squat building and the building and surrounds facing High Street a derelict mess. All in all, 91 High Street is a scar on the face of Fremantle. Just what is happening with it? Does the owner intend to activate the property and at least keep it in a state of tidiness that can add some amenity to High Street in that locality, rather than seriously detract from it? We have laws to protect animals that aren’t cared for by their owners. And we have laws to protect the the heritage value of buildings. Perhaps we also need laws protecting buildings that don’t seem to be cared for by their owners.