FREMANTLE council has touched the brakes on plans for an Aboriginal Cultural Centre, while Cockburn is full throttle with its own and ready to put in a formal bid for state funding.

At last week’s Fremantle council meeting, the $50,000 budget set aside for the project was halved for a market analysis instead of a “detailed feasibility study”.

The council’s concerned about the impact Cockburn’s centre might have on its own, as well as the long-delayed Indigenous centre at Elizabeth Quay should that ever go forward.

“An analysis could determine how various centres will satisfy the demand within the market and what risks exist for Fremantle in competing in that market,” a report to council said.

The analysis is due back to council in June.

At Cockburn’s meeting, councillors endorsed a Lotterywest application of $1.5 million for its proposed centre across the road from Bibra Lake.

The council also flagged $2m in this year’s budget and a further $4.4m next year to fund the centre. It has preliminary designs which resemble a giant turtle and include a visitor area, cultural and historic “sharing area”, fire pits, bush garden, a cafe, meeting spaces, spaces for artists-in-residences and a car park suitable for handling buses.