Our future
Lady Lawley Cottage, Cottesloe
In 2023, Rocky Bay reopened Lady Lawley Cottage and since then we’ve dedicated ourselves to transforming our Hub by the Sea into a safe and nurturing environment.
We have proudly supported children and youth from the charming site in Cottesloe, with our range of specialist children’s services including physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, pediatric continence, dietetics and podiatry.
Our efforts to bring new life back to Lady Lawley Cottage have reached an important milestone, with stage 1 refurbishment works commencing after the Town of Cottesloe granted the necessary Building Permit.
Thanks to our fundraising efforts, we have secured funds for this first of the two stages, with stage 2 fundraising to continue while stage 1 works progress.
What is changing?
The charming heritage building and spaces specially designed for children and youths will soon embrace a growing array of specialist children’s services, offering exciting opportunities to engage in inclusive play, nurture relationships and develop new skills.
Plans for the site will enhance accessibility, safeguarding measures and the overall aesthetics of the aging facility, which will allow our customers to access some great specialist spaces, such as:
- A sensory room
- Soft-play facilities
- Purpose built craft/activity spaces
- Kitchen for both cooking activities and lifeskills programming
- Outdoor activity spaces/playgrounds
While the works are intended to bring new life to the facility, feedback received during consultation activities has informed a commitment to creating a homely and welcoming environment, with plenty of space for children and youths to connect and build friendships.
The works program
While work is undertaken on buildings A, B and C, our existing Clinical and Community services will continue as usual in the two buildings closest to the beach (buildings D and E).
Expected Duration | Anticipated Dates | |
Telethon accessible merry-go-round | Underway | |
Works completion B and C | 8 weeks | Underway |
Fitout, equipment and fixtures (B, C) | 6 weeks | Commencing 24 July |
Works completion A | 16 weeks | Underway |
Fitout, equipment and fixtures | 6 weeks | Commencing 5 August |
Buildings D and E refurbishment | Pending funding | Preliminary: September – December |
These works have been made possible thanks to support from the Stan Perron Charitable Foundation, the Association of the Advancement of Brain Injured Children and various other smaller donations.
How does this impact our customers?
Thanks to our robust planning, all our services will continue with minimal impact on our current programs from the facility. We are also actively working to keep our staff and customers well informed about the works program, with a strong commitment to minimising any potential impacts from the works underway.
A note on stage 2
Stage 2 will see the upgrade to the two accommodation units (buildings D and E) to offer a range of modern respite options for children and their families.
Keep up to date
We’ll continue to update you on our exciting milestones in revamping our Lady Lawley Cottage, with regular progress reports to be shared on this page. Alternatively, you can register below to have updates sent direct to your inbox. Additionally, if you have any questions regarding the refurbishment works, please feel free to email them through to [email protected].
LLC Engagement
Mosman Park
Rocky Bay’s plans to rezone its 60 McCabe Street premises have achieved a significant milestone, with the Town of Mosman Park releasing our proposed Scheme Amendment for public consultation.
This is an essential part in the State planning process as we work to rezone the site from being limited to ‘social care facilities’ to being appropriately zoned to support residential development. This will provide more clarity for potential purchasers of the site around how future residential development could be considered, by amending the Town’s Local Planning Scheme No. 3 (LPS 3).
Ultimately, Rocky Bay is working towards the sale of a large portion of our McCabe Street premises in Mosman Park in order to fund facilities better able to support Western Australians living with disability.
Chief Executive Officer Michael Tait said: “Mosman Park is not where the vast majority of our customers are – as Perth expands to the east, that is where the needs are the greatest.”
An Expression of Interest process for the site in late 2022 revealed significant interest, however the lack of zoning over the site created uncertainty about its future use. In response, Rocky Bay and its consultants embarked on a planning process which culminated in the submission of a ‘Scheme Amendment Request’ to the Town of Mosman Park. Our proposal includes significant consideration of the wide range of feedback that we received from our local residents and other stakeholders during community consultation, lengthy and considerable consultation with the Council and Officers of the Town of Mosman Park, and due consideration of the intentions of the Town’s planning policies.
The purpose of the Scheme Amendment is to provide more clarity for potential purchasers around how future residential development could be considered over the site.
Belmont
Rocky Bay has made the strategic decision to sell its site at 113-151 Abernethy Road in Belmont. The decision to sell was not made lightly, but a lot has changed in the sector since the site was purchased two years ago.
Rocky Bay has long been at the fore of evolving for the benefit of people with disability, which in this instance means being able to pivot our plans in response to new data and insights that have emerged.
The decision to sell Belmont represents a prudent and responsive strategy shift to better support people living with disability across the State of Western Australia.