FREMANTLE mayor Ben Lawver hopes a proposed increase in housing density elsewhere in the city will help protect the historic West End.
The council’s planning committee on Wednesday endorsed a draft Local Planning Scheme update with higher density in the East End, North Fremantle, South Street, Hilton’s town centre and Samson. A big jump in the area around the Peaches/IGA shopping centre would see that go from R25 to R100.
Mr Lawver says the city needs to accommodate growth while preserving the streetscapes that make Fremantle distinctive.
“That’s my hope,” he said when asked whether the new scheme could put firmer limits on development in the West End.
Mr Lawver said the existing planning framework allowed additional building height in some circumstances, including where proposals were considered to demonstrate architectural excellence.
He said those provisions had been introduced before development assessment panels took over decisions on some larger projects, meaning applications for bonus height no longer necessarily went before council.
The new scheme offered an opportunity to give residents and developers greater certainty about what could be built, he said.
“There are very few examples of intact neighbourhoods like the West End left,” Mr Lawver said.
He hoped the WA Planning Commission would recognise the value of protecting the heritage precinct while allowing development in other parts of Fremantle.
Other proposed changes across the city include increased density around selected centres and transport corridors, while the scheme seeks to retain the character of established heritage areas.
Mr Lawver said the intention was not to prevent development, but to make clearer where it should occur.
“The existing scheme is pretty complex,” he said, referring to the accumulation of amendments and policies over the past 20 years.
He said the city wanted people to be able to understand the rules applying to a site without having to navigate multiple policies and amendments.
“Developers do want certainty. And they want to know what they can and can’t do,” he said.
Mr Lawver said clear rules could encourage development by helping applicants understand what was permissible before investing in a project.
He also argued that protecting the West End would help preserve one of Fremantle’s attractions for the film industry, with productions able to use its historic streets without having to remove intrusive modern buildings during post-production.
“My personal opinion is, I’d like to see the West End protected for the next generation,” he said.
If the planning committee’s recommendation sails through council as expected, the next step would be to seek the planning minister’s permission to advertise it for public comment.
Mr Lawver said community feedback would help determine what level of development was appropriate, and he hoped the city could progress the proposal as quickly as possible.
by STEVE GRANT