MAYOR Brad Pettitt says Fremantle council has got the balance right between contamination and horse training issues with the Freofarm application for the former South Fremantle landfill site.

But the WA environment and conservation department is not convinced. It wants to see formal advice from a contaminated sites auditor and soil test results, before going further.

Dr Pettitt says a recent motion supporting a Freofarm business village and solarfarm, “makes compatibility with horse uses a condition” of going forward.

He says if the Freofarm project is not compatible with these and other uses, or fails to address contamination challenges, “it won’t proceed”.

“The motion seeks the balance by ensuring all these issues are adequately addressed as part of the process going forward,” he told the Herald.

He wants Freofarm to firm up its proposal “in line with council expectations”.

His notice states the site is highly unlikely to be remediated or redeveloped over the next decade, leaving it a “underutilised wasteland”.

by CARMELO AMALFI