A drug rehabilitation facility known for being one of the strictest in the country has been told to close its doors within 12 months by a local shire which says it does not meet zoning guidelines.
The not-for-profit Shalom House opened its doors in 2012 in Western Australia as a place for drug-addicted men to dry out "cold turkey".
Among some of the strict rules imposed by founder Peter Lyndon-James, a former drug dealer and ice addict, the men are not allowed to smoke or swear, and must shave their heads on entry.
The charity said it now houses up to 140 men with serious drug or other addictions over 14 properties in the Swan Valley, in Perth's north-east.
However the organisation has been tied up in legal disputes with the City of Swan since 2015 when the city ordered it shut down one of its properties on Park Street, Henley Brook, because it did not meet residential zoning requirements.
The matter went to the State Administrative Tribunal (SAT), then to the Supreme Court, which referred it back to the SAT last September.
The planning body ordered the city to reconsider a bid by Shalom House to reclassify the premises as "community purpose", which Mr Lyndon-James says allow it to operate under current zoning rules.
But the city rejected Shalom House's application, and gave the organisation 12 months to shut up shop.
Mr Lyndon-James, who is also a councillor at the City of Swan, said he was disappointed with the outcome.
He said he rejected claims the facility would cause issues in the community, and said he had never received any complaints.
"We've never had any incidences of any harm or anything in any way shape or form," he said.
"We have counsellors and psychiatrists and doctors, there's no threat to the community at all, and there never has been since the day we've been there."
City of Swan Mayor David Lucas declined to be interviewed by the ABC.
However, the city issued a statement saying the decision to refuse Shalom House's application was made after community consultation.
"This issue has been given full consideration, and I believe this is one of the most difficult decisions to come before council in decades," the statement said.
The matter will go now back to the SAT, which can overrule the City of Swan's decision.
