Some trees matter?
WHERE are you all?
The masses of people who swarmed to protect the Cattalini Morton Bay fig tree on the corner of Parry and High.
A whole bank of giant trees will be destroyed to build the proposed apartment block on the heritage-listed Fremantle oval.
Is it easier to condemn a revered mayor’s widow’s tree than the magnificent grove on Freo oval?
Suzanne John
Fremantle
Open mole!
THERE appears to be no practical progress to open the South Mole.
The extensive signage indicates a maximum three-hour parking for vehicles, but the blockade remains in place.
I took the opportunity to walk the length of the mole, which was virtually deserted.
There was no evidence of any damage to the toilet block, concrete building or to the lighthouse and fence surround.
So what was the vandal damage on the night of the notorious party?
No doubt debris and possibly graffiti, but what else?
If an “improvements” are to be made, the heavy barrier has to be removed.
The Port Authority has said that matters “are under consideration”.
The toilet block could be one. But what else?
Perhaps a new entry gate?
I, amongst many others, have made regular trips to the mole for over 50 years.
It is time to make vehicle access available without delay.
Chris Raeburn
Melville
• The lighthouse as painted by Chris’s wife in the ‘90s.
Good sign
DEPUTY mayor Glynis Barber is requesting the City of Melville staff to investigate the feasibility of development options for the existing Canning Bridge library site and 67-69 Canning Beach Road.
Ideas include offices, tourism accommodation, residential dwellings and a multi-storey car park.
On the face of it, this looks like good news and good sense too.
The community has stated we need more public parking in the Canning Bridge precinct and this would make the two planned public open space sites, at Moreau Mews and The Esplanade, part of a vibrant, attractive, liveable destination site interwoven with proposed tourist development at Canning Bridge.
It will be good to see the whole picture once the report is completed by December!
Paula Samson
Applecross
No surprise
I WAS saddened, but not surprised, to see the City of Fremantle place the responsibility for deferral of the proposed underground power charges on the community rather than acknowledging and accepting responsibility for its failures.
What is needed is NOT “to give ratepayers in South Fremantle and City South more time to understand the benefits of underground power” but for City of Fremantle to understand that up to $1000 a year for seven years – equivalent to a 40 per cent increase in rates – is NOT a trivial amount that ratepayers can just pluck out of their wallets at a moment’s notice.
At the council meeting of June 26, I asked: “When did City of Fremantle assess community support for underground power in the South Fremantle/City South area?”
The lack of any answer appears to demonstrate a disregard for the people of Fremantle.
Western Power guidelines emphasise the need to ensure community support for underground power projects at the stage of, or soon after, signing the Memorandum of Understanding, but City of Fremantle only started communication with the community 10 months after signing the MoU and mainly after the proposed charges were approved for advertising.
City of Fremantle was apparently happy to start charging people without ensuring there was that community support.
Last week’s agenda item on the 2024-25 Budget states: “The purpose of the advertising was to give residents reasonable notice of the estimated charge… prior to issuing a charge with rates notices”. Does City of Fremantle really consider that two months is ‘reasonable notice’ for a requirement to pay nearly $1000 – not just for one year but for seven years?
Now that it has 12 months to work on the project, will the City of Fremantle establish a ratepayer reference group to ensure that:
• the affected community is fully-informed; and
• community concerns are identified and addressed before any further decisions or commitments, including signing a contract with Western Power, are made?
Ian Ker
South Fremantle
Monkey see
SO the mayor wants to put her mark on Fremantle by building nine-storey apartments overlooking the Oval and most of Fremantle.
Just like Claremont and the WACA; monkey see monkey do!
I thought the new $43 million council building detracted from the look of the town hall and St John’s Church, but this is going to take things to an even more exciting level.
With the building of the highly anticipated cop shop and the already completed Little Lane apartments, could Fremantle be headed for architectural blunder land?
Much to the chagrin of those who fought against the demolition of historic Fremantle in the ‘60s and ‘70s, and the building of Johnson Court and the Arundel Street apartments and the majestic Fremantle Hospital, successive councils continue to push their agenda to the detriment of what was once a picture-perfect 19th century city.
The fact that the mayor is already seeking funding from Canberra (“8-storey oval push,” Herald July 6, 2024) shows she is determined to have this done and dusted well before any consultation with ratepayers.
I recall at a recent council meeting I attended, the phrase “the precedent has been set” was used to allow the apartments on the corner of Pakenham and Phillimore Streets to go ahead.
This “conceptual master plan” as she calls it may be a bit down the track, but so was the original plan for the police complex that was supposed to be in the Woolstores complex and look what we are getting now!
Will council have to sell more ratepayer-owned land to pay for this concept, or will they just hand over their land to some private investors when they realise they didn’t allow for cost blow outs and collapsed building contractors?
Couldn’t agree more with Mr Dowson. Look to somewhere else.
Ric Aldrovandi
Fremantle
Whoops
REGARDING my Thinking Allowed “Where are our women,” (Herald, July 6, 2024) Meg Burns was misquoted.
She did not say “we are better”, what she did say was “we are the same as the haul pack drivers up north”. My apologies for the misquote.
All the male drivers who come down my street are really good and deserve cake.
Barbara Darling
South Fremantle
Wheely good
I WOULD like to say a big thank you to everyone who was involved with Point Walter mountain bike park.
If you haven’t been there, it’s the most amazing construction and getting used daily by hundreds of people.
Emil Taylor
Via email