THE man behind a renewed push for part of North Fremantle to be ceded to Mosman Park says the latter has a much clearer vision for the area than Fremantle council.
Geoff Totterdell single-handedly prepared the 21-page submission which has prompted the WA Local Government Advisory Board to launch an official inquiry into the merits of splitting North Fremantle at Craig Road.
The submission had been accompanied by signatures from 165 residents, many of whom packed out a public forum last week.
Mr Totterdell says the residents want to be in Mosman Park because it’s where they shop and spend time: it’s their community in a way that Fremantle just isn’t.
Fremantle had missed many opportunities to connect with the area and had alienated its ratepayers, he says.
“Even with this issue, I note that at the meeting [Freo mayor] Brad Pettitt said that they would sit down and talk with Mosman Park about it, but he didn’t mention coming to talk to any of us,” Mr Totterdell told the Herald.
He wants a broad plan developed for the area to look at how many people will live there, how they spend their leisure time and what mix of businesses they’ll attract, but says Fremantle has rebuffed similar calls.
Anger over the council’s handling of the up-zoning of three major development sites, including the Matilda Bay brewery, had helped him build momentum to get neighbours on board.
“There was one councillor from Mosman Park who took a strong interest in it, mainly because she was dealing with the residents over there, and she was saying things like ‘did you know this, did you know that’.
• Geoff Totterdell wobbles around an overgrown footpath on Fremantle’s side of McCabe Street, while Mosman Park’s side, in the background, is neat and trimmed. Photo by Steve Grant.
“It got to the point that I was thinking if people are becoming aware of these issues from someone from Mosman Park, why should we be in Fremantle.”
Mr Totterdell says Freo’s rezoning will result in major traffic problems along McCabe Street, which already gets busy around school opening and closing times, but the council hasn’t dealt with it effectively.
He gets the feeling Mosman Park is more attuned to the problem and says there have already been overtures about straightening McCabe Street because residents driving out of the new five-storey Taskers redevelopment have to rely on a mirror because of the blind corner.
His petition has forced the two councils to start talking about the border, which at one point zigzags between residential lots and is so confusing for garbos that rubbish bins sometimes don’t get picked up at all.
Mosman Park mayor Ron Norris says it’s silly to have the major growth area split between two councils, and notes most of it already sits in his tiny municipality. If the boundary change goes ahead it could ultimately mean 2000 new rateable properties.
North Fremantle Community Association president Gerry MacGill says he gets the impression many petitioners were unaware of the work his group has done with Freo council on preparing a structure plan and traffic studies for the area.
But he’s sympathetic to their complaints about the lack of love and services.
The association has opposed boundary changes in the past but he concedes a case could be made for some adjustments because of the scraggly border.
by STEVE GRANT
