FREMANTLE SOCIETY president John Dowson is calling on Fremantle council to abandon its Kings Square deal with Sirona when it expires in May and rethink its plans for the iconic public space.

Speaking at a society dinner at the Federal Hotel (formerly Rosie O’Grady’s) Mr Dowson said the long-stalled redevelopment showed the council was going down the wrong path.

“Council’s changes to the town planning scheme to allow high-rise buildings at Queensgate and elsewhere was done to kickstart a revitalisation program,” Mr Dowson said.

“But years later there have been no kicks and no starts in this area so far.”

The former deputy mayor urged the council to adopt the recommendations of the Urban Design Centre, which 10 years ago suggested demolishing the council’s administrative building and moving staff into the Queensgate Centre, which is barely 27 years old. That, argued the UDC, would free up space to give Fremantle “a true urban square”.

Mr Dowson says the council is instead risking going into debt — exposing ratepayers to potentially high rate rises — to construct a new building for executives, staff and councillors that takes up more of the square and creates “an underground library the staff don’t want”.