WHAT is the future of Fremantle?

I don’t mean the committee of that name, that is largely concentrating on planning the future of the Fremantle Ports precinct at Rous Head and Victoria Quay, when the working port moves to Kwinana.

But how is the old historic city of Freo going to grow and progress?

How can we turn our 33,000 resident small city into a vibrant 100,000 people city, whilst still protecting our beautiful heritage?

That is a huge challenge, that comes up every time someone wants to do a development in our city.

Fremantle mayor Hannah Fitzhardinge expressed her idea to see 10,000 more people living in the inner city. 

Something that can only be achieved with taller and more substantial buildings, and that is something a minority group of heritage conservatives objects to.

The recent controversy of Hesperia adding two modern stories to the heritage-listed Robert Harper building on the corner of Pakenham and Phillimore streets, highlights yet again the challenge of embracing modern growth, and accepting that Fremantle’s future will be built on compromise.

Sirona Urban’s plans for a substantial eight-storey residential development on the Point Street carpark site has already received criticism, and while Hesperia has not yet created any definite plans for the Elders Woolstores opposite Clancy’s, the same anti-change advocates are already saying that it will likely be too high and will destroy the heritage character of the building.

We have often heard that Fremantle should follow the lead of Newcastle in NSW, that developed its inner city and retained its original charm, due to a comprehensive heritage strategy, but I have talked to residents of that city, who are not impressed with what has been going on there.

In Kyoto in Japan, things appear to be simpler when it comes to heritage protection. 

Owners just take their properties off the heritage list, before they apply for development. 

We should be grateful that can’t be done in Western Australia.

The WA government has largely taken over development approvals, so there is a real danger that the wishes of the Fremantle people will be ignored, and that we might get new buildings that are unsuitable, because of scale and architecture, so how can we fight that. 

Have we lost all power to decide the future of our city?

The Fremantle Society present the opinion of architects, that a proposed development is unsuitable, attacking the professionalism of the project’s architects, and the opinion of the Design Advisory Panel, which is a panel of peers. 

Like all creatives, architects have their own unique views, so who is right and who is wrong? 

What is suitable architecture for our port city?

Compromise

I strongly believe that working together and finding acceptable compromises for future development is the way forward. 

There is no doubt that Fremantle needs to grow, so that many more people can live, work and play here. 

That also means that we have to stop treating property developers as the enemies of the community. 

They are not! 

They are the ones who are building our future. 

The housing crisis depends on private investment to construct the many residential buildings that are desperately needed, so we need to work closely with them.

Height and bulk should not be a major hurdle to build in Fremantle. 

Height is essential to achieve substantial urban infill and accommodate thousands of people. 

The council in Newcastle made changes to the height and floor-space ratio. 

Fremantle Council targeted 13 inner city sites for significant development when it approved PSA 49 a decade ago. 

That, plus the Walyalup Koort precinct redevelopment, has given major developers confidence in investing here, hence we  have a billion dollar development pipeline in Fremantle.

I am absolutely in favour of protecting our heritage and Freo’s unique character, but we have to stop being frightened of change. 

Change is happening every second of every day. 

People change constantly, and so does the world we live in. 

Fremantle is not a museum, but a place of growth, dreams and hopes.

Fremantle needs to grow to prosper, and become a major and vibrant city.

Roel Loopers
http://www.freoview.wordpress.com