Town Beach Project set to enter next stage

Construction is set to get underway on the next stage of the exciting upgrades taking place at Broome’s popular Town Beach.

Work will begin this week on a new internal roadway extending Hamersley St around the back of the Broome Museum to connect with Robinson St to provide access for market stallholders and community events; car and boat trailer parking for the Catalinas boat ramp; and car parking for the new parkland that will be developed later in the project.

Construction will be carried out by local firm Roadline Civil Contractors as the outcome of a procurement process.

Site clearing for construction will begin this week, with the area to be fenced and traffic management put in place. The southern end of Hamersley St will be closed, with public access to properties on Hamersley St and the Catalinas boat ramp to be maintained, but access to the Seaview shopping centre and Broome museum to be via Robinson St.

Access to the existing parkland and water park will continue as normal outside the site boundaries.

Existing trees at the site will be retained where possible, however some will be removed to allow for the new infrastructure. These will be replaced by more than 200 new trees (including a native fruit orchard), 8000 plants and 6500sqm of grass as part of the following stage of the project to expand the parkland through to Catalinas with new nature play, youth, heritage and markets precincts, public art and interpretive information, and expanding the existing water park.

The first stage of the Town Beach Project to construct a rock revetment seawall to address the environmental and safety threat from the eroding pindan cliffs is nearly completed and will include grassed terraces for viewing the Staircase to the Moon, a coastal walkway overlooking Roebuck Bay, and stairs for beach access.

Broome Shire President, Harold Tracey, said that it was exciting to see the Town Beach Project taking shape as part of Council’s vision to enhance and link our key precincts at Town Beach, Chinatown and Cable Beach.

“This is a great outcome for our community and enhances this significant and popular location with its unique mix of history, heritage and recreation,” Cr Tracey said.

“The Town Beach Project is building on all of the existing strengths and attractions with a range of sub-projects to improve the experience for everybody.”

The sub-projects in the Town Beach Project are drawn from the Old Broome Development Strategy that was developed after extensive consultation with the community and cooperation from key stakeholders including Kimberley Ports, Yawuru Traditional Owners, the Broome Historical Society Museum, Water Corporation and others.