FREMANTLE mayor Hannah Fitzhardinge says there will “absolutely” be an opportunity for residents to have a say on plans for eight and nine-storey residential blocks on Fremantle Oval.
Last week Ms Fitzhardinge took artists’ impressions of a proposed oval redevelopment to Canberra in the hopes of attracting federal funding, but the Fremantle Society is angry it was done without being revealed to ratepayers.
“At the moment, it’s a conceptual master plan,” Ms Fitzhardinge said.
“We’re able to do enough work through a concept plan to get a sort of sense of what are the costs going to be like,” Ms Fitzhardinge said.
“For any kind of building development, we would
need to go through a development application process. “A lot of things would need to be decided before we could get into a final design process and go through a DA so that really is a bit further down the line. “At this point, we’re more interested in identifying the funding streams, how they’d operate, and what they’d best be suited to in terms of delivering a housing outcome.” According to Mayor
Fitzhardinge, “the most exciting aspect” of the CLGF is “an amazing opportunity” for the federal and state governments to fund Freo’s needs, especially in context of the national housing crisis.
“The most significant thing for me is this opportunity to deliver housing,” Ms Fitzhardinge said.
“Things like the housing support package that the federal government has announced that could be applicable for a lot of projects in Fremantle.
“They are effectively funding housing enabling infrastructure that then frees up possible to do what our community needs in terms of delivering affordable, flexible housing.”
Fremantle Society president John Dowson says the nine-storey proposal was “criminal” given its proximity to the World Heritage-listed Fremantle Prison.
Mr Dowson says the “most important” aspect of the Prison’s heritage status is the “openness” of the protective zone around it.
“The main thing is, they’re focusing on accommodation… if they want to build apartments, go down to Beaconsfield, go to the east end of Fremantle up near the traffic bridge but don’t come in to the middle of the city.
“This is not a green-field, building site, it’s a buffer zone for the World Heritage prison.
“That’s not what the buffer zone is…the buffer zones is not there for developers to make money.”
Mayor Fitzhardinge says that it’s “in Fremantle’s heritage” to have more people living in the CBD, highlighting that the residential development will cater to students and key workers, as well as people living with disabilities.
“At the moment, we have a really low number of people living in Fremantle compared to what it was effectively designed for,” she said.
“I think when people use heritage as a reason to oppose development, they’re not actually respecting the heritage of the city, which is to be a bustling, thriving place.”
by KATHERINE KRAAYVANGER