'Not fair': Businesses crying out for foot traffic in Perth CBD

Western Australia is home to some of the world's most pristine beaches, a bustling mining sector and two mighty AFL teams.

But Perth's office spaces are increasingly bare and businesses say they're crying out for more foot traffic.

Business owner Nico took over an Italian sandwich bar in the CBD five months ago.

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He says more needs to be done to bring people back into the city. 

"I see many, many shops close already in two months and is very uncomfortable," Nico said.

"It's not fair when you see, especially in the weekend, the city is very empty, you know, and especially if you go in the big city, like Sydney, Melbourne, [it's] more popular in the city.

"But here in the weekend is like, no one wants to come in the city "

New figures from the Property Council of Australia show Perth's office vacancy rate is now the second-highest in the country. 

Chamber of Commerce chief executive Aaron Morey wants trading hours to be revised, a notoriously touchy subject in WA. 

"All businesses at the moment are reporting significant rise in operating costs, and so that's your costs of energy, that's your wages, your insurance bill goes up significantly," he said.

"Western Australia very much is a laggard when it comes to liberating those retail trading hours.

"We've seen other states and territories move forward. We're not asking for full deregulation, just a sensible extension of the current restrictions."

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In Fremantle, 20km from Perth, the retail crisis is even worse.

One of its most famous failures is a Hungry Jacks in the city's famed 'Cappuccino strip'.

The fast-food chain closed down the location in 2018 and has remained empty for seven years despite multiple plans to redevelop the site.

The City of Fremantle told A Current Affair a development application has finally been approved for the abandoned site.

But with one in five retail spaces in Fremantle vacant, locals says something needs to change.

"It's very sad...I guess, walking around and remembering your childhood memories from being around Fremantle, having a good time, and then now it's sort of a bit desolate nowadays," one local said.

Watch the full video in the player above.

FULL CITY OF FREMANTLE STATEMENT

The City's most recent vacancy audit identified a city centre vacancy rate of 17.7% which is trending down from 20.3% in 2022. The audit for 2025 is currently in progress.

While the City of Fremantle is not a homelessness support service provider, it does work constructively with St Pat's as the lead agency for community support services in the Fremantle area.

We collaborate on programs like Library Connect which focuses on homelessness prevention and we advocate for initiatives like the provision of more crisis accommodation.

A development application has been approved for 37 South Terrace, Fremantle (the old Hungry Jack's building) with the applicant currently in the detailed design phase of their plans.