AFTER losing crowd favourites Laneway, Summer Salt and Falls festivals, Fremantle council has reshaped its event policy in hopes of winning some crowd-pleasers back.
Fremantle’s Outdoor Events Policy, which sets limits on which venues can host large or major events each year, has been updated to make it more flexible.
The review increases allocations at Fremantle Park, Fremantle Oval, and Esplanade Reserve, adds Bruce Lee and Hilton Parks as smaller venues, and replaces the old Expression of Interest system with a first-come, first-served approach.
Since Covid-19, the city has lost major festivals like St Jerome’s Laneway, Falls Festival and now more recently Summer Salt, leaving gaps in the event calendar.
Event organisers have long called for less red tape, lower fees, faster approvals, and more support.
The revised policy hopes to responds, while still protecting residents, managing noise, and limiting disruption to the broader community.
At Wednesday’s council meeting, councillor Jemima Williamson-Wong introduced a fossil fuel advertising clause, meaning signage for polluting sponsors can only be shown on site for 48 hours on each side of an event.
“I think it’s important to acknowledge the role that sponsorships play in bringing these events to life and often the different benefits that can come from the fact that this money exists, especially in our state, but at the same time I think the fossil fuel advertising and sponsorship policy that we introduced sends a message that we’re not welcoming it as marker in our town constantly,” Cr Williamson-Wong said.
“We’re not going to be like the City of Perth with their skyline of fossil fuel execs and corporations.”
Whilst the amendment was approved, councillor Frank Mofflin spoke against adopting it.
Mr Mofflin works for global miner South32, which has only recently divested its coal mines, but said he’d vote against the motion, because the City had many policies already in place and linking just one to the Outdoor Events Policy would create confusion.
Event organisers like BeerFest told the Chook they already found the Outdoor Events Policy to be practical and supportive.
“As an organisation that delivers festivals across Australia, we engage with councils nationwide, and the City of Fremantle is very much in line with, if not ahead of, best practice,” organisers said in a statement.
“The policy is clear, user-friendly, and supported by a team that genuinely wants the best outcome for their parks, their community, their local businesses, and tourism, values that strongly align with our own.
“We’ve always found City of Fremantle to be reasonable and understanding, and there is consistently someone available to speak with if we need to talk through timelines, logistics, or any operational matters.
“The process is collaborative, supportive, and ultimately contributes to delivering the best possible event for Fremantle.”
by ISLA TOMLINSON