The so-called ‘Medina sheds’ behind shops on Pace Road.
Camera IconThe so-called ‘Medina sheds’ behind shops on Pace Road. Credit: Supplied/Supplied

Medina sheds in the spotlight for attracting squatters, drug use and dumping

Jaime ShurmerWeekend Kwinana Courier

THE CITY of Kwinana has attempted to take control of storage sheds behind the Medina shops on Pace Road to address antisocial behaviour in the area but one shop owner is not open to selling their shed and land.

The site is currently in the control of 12 different owners.

Medina Newsagency does not own a shed – it has a small Department of Housing lot behind it – but the newsagency’s Linda Collings said dumping, squatters and antisocial behaviour had been more of an issue in the past year.

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She said there was an attempt some years ago to include the site in a new housing estate development, but a shop owner then had resisted selling the land.

The estate was built without impact to the sheds, which are known locally as the ‘Medina sheds’.

“I’ll be happy for the council to have control of the sheds because they are trying to improve the area,” Mrs Collings said.

Mrs Collings said the council was also looking at why some lights weren’t working in the carpark in front of the shops, and she said CCTV for Pace Road had been approved but could not be directed on the sheds.

Kwinana Mayor Carol Adams said tenants and property managers regularly called city representatives to the site, but it remains private land and, as such, the City is unable to install security measures such as CCTV.

One business owner told Community News on Tuesday she was about to call police because she suspected stolen goods were being housed in one of the sheds.

The future of the sheds is expected to be discussed by the council tonight, with the city keeping confidential the identity of the shop owner who does not want to sell.

The council will consider whether to abandon the project and revisit it in a few years’ time, while focusing on other improvements in Medina.

READ MORE: Pace Road in Medina to get CCTV

There is evidence of drug use at the sheds, according to the city, and the sheds contain asbestos.

The initial business case calculations of redevelopment showed a significant loss for the City but the social benefit deemed it justifiable.

The City is responsible for enforcing health and building standards, but shop owners have said the sheds are continuously vandalised despite attempts to secure the sheds.

The Council meeting agenda indicates that if councillors were to instruct the city to buy the remaining sheds, excluding the resisting site, then money would need to be borrowed by the city and be the topic of a separate report.

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