FREMANTLE residents are being given the chance to have a say on what should be built on the old Beaconsfield TAFE site.

Fremantle council and DevelopmentWA opened up consultation last week to get ideas on sustainability, housing, facilities and public spaces. 

Beacy TAFE, in its 54-year history, offered courses on building and construction, carpentry, business and hospitality but has sat vacant since 2017.

Beaconsfield councillor Fedele Camarda said he’s looking forward to seeing what housing options the community favours.

“What I’ve heard is that locals want something that fits in with the historical area but also has some affordable options,” he said.

The Forever Project’s Chris Ferreira urged DevelopmentWA to retain all the site’s greenery. 

“It is madness to assume that we can clear away trees and work with just a blank site,” Mr Ferreira said. 

Through building sustainable developments in Cockburn Central and Hamilton Hill, he’d like to see shade for hard surfaces, reusing construction waste in footpaths and water waste for gardens.

“Beautiful gardens make people better; it’s part of their mental health plan and they can grow their own food,” he said.

Local architect Mike Edwards, has worked on multi-storey apartments in nearby White Gum Valley; he says DevelopmentWA is on the right track: “Good exposure, minimise overshadowing.”

He said new developments should be to appropriate scale with existing developments and surrounding properties.

“If they are done by a skilled architect and good developers, you’ll hopefully end up with a development that the residents will be happy with and also adds something to the neighbourhood.”

Contributions can be made on the DevelopmentWA website.

by LUKE COMMINS