Heart of Beaconsfield draft masterplan endorsed by council

A draft masterplan laying out the collective vision for the Heart of Beaconsfield has been endorsed by Fremantle Council.

The Heart of Beaconsfield project is being led by the City of Fremantle in cooperation with the Department of Communities and other partners to coordinate the redevelopment of the area around the Davis Park precinct, Lefroy Road quarry and the former South Metropolitan TAFE site. 

The council’s Strategic Planning and Transport Committee last night endorsed a revised draft of the Heart of Beaconsfield masterplan for the purposes of community consultation.

Fremantle Mayor Brad Pettitt said the Heart of Beaconsfield process began in 2016 in response to a lot of big changes that were happening in the area.

“The Department of Communities was looking to redevelop the Davis Park area, the TAFE was closing, Fremantle College was being expanded and there were questions about what to do with the Lefroy Road quarry,” Mayor Pettitt said.

“All these things were happening independent of one another, so it made sense to try and pull them together under one coordinated plan.

“Over the past few years there’s been lots of consultation with state government agencies, landowners and the local community to understand what people considered important and what their future vision was for where they lived.

“We’ve taken all of that feedback and come up with a masterplan which includes the expansion of public open space, better pedestrian and bike connections through the area through strategic green links, the retention of important community facilities and a more diverse housing mix.

“Now that the masterplan has been endorsed by the council the next step is a final round of community engagement to see if there are any last minute tweaks required before final adoption.

“While the masterplan doesn’t set any hard and fast rules about future development in the area, it does provide an important guide on what the council and the community would like to see happen and what sort of development would be considered acceptable.”

The Heart of Beaconsfield masterplan covers a 48 hectare area stretching from South Street to Clontarf Road.

Key features include the retention of Bruce Lee Oval and the future development of a new oval on the Lefroy Road quarry, a new green link connecting South Street to Lefroy Road and Clontarf Road, and the retention of community facilities including Fremantle College, child care centres and Activ disability support services. 

The plan accommodates the Department of Communities proposal for a redeveloped residential and retail precinct at Davis Park, redevelopment of the TAFE site and medium density residential development on surplus land adjoining Brue Lee Oval.

Community consultation on the Heart of Beaconsfield masterplan will start in January next year.