Council recommends cautious approach to North Fremantle redevelopment

Fremantle Council has foreshadowed its support for the future redevelopment of prime coastal land near Port Beach, but only if key planning issues are resolved first.

The North Fremantle Development Precinct is a 23-hectare site between Tydeman Road and the Leighton Beach redevelopment. The precinct has historically been used for industrial purposes including a fuel terminal, lubricant depot and wool processing plant, but is now largely vacant.

The site’s current owners have applied to the WA Planning Commission to have the land rezoned from ‘Industrial’ to ‘Urban’ and ‘Parks and Recreation’.

The WAPC referred the proposal to the City of Fremantle to provide its preliminary comments.

Fremantle Mayor Hannah Fitzhardinge said if the land was no longer required for industrial purposes redeveloping it for residential and recreational use was logical, but there were a number of issues that would need to be resolved before that could happen.

“The land in question falls within the scope of the Future of Fremantle Planning Committee, which has been set up by the state government to examine land use and economic development opportunities for Fremantle in the wake of its decision to build a new container port at Kwinana,” Mayor Fitzhardinge said.

“It makes sense to allow the committee to do its work and consider this site in a broader context before heading down the path of rezoning it for urban development.

“The key to this is that there needs to be much more rigorous consideration of how much land should be set aside as a long-term buffer against coastal erosion, while also maintaining sufficient public open space and room for facilities such as surf clubs, car parks, and change rooms as sea levels rise.

“There needs to be enough land included in the Parks and Recreation reserve to allow this to happen and ensure future generations still have access to a nice sandy beach, but the council considers the current proposal falls well short.

“We would like to engage in discussions on this issue with the WAPC, the landowners and other stakeholders before a formal rezoning process proceeds any further.

“Other considerations include the likelihood of ground contamination and the level of remediation that will be required, transport and access issues like the possible extension of Curtin Avenue, and ensuring that this site is properly connected to the North Fremantle town centre.

“For these reasons the council considers an ‘urban deferred’ zoning would be most appropriate for the balance of the land not required for the expanded foreshore reserve, and to only move towards an urban zoning once these matters have been properly addressed.”  

At a meeting last night, the council voted to advise WAPC that the exploration of alternative uses for the North Fremantle Development Precinct was reasonable given the current status of the land, and that urban zoning presented a logical option given its prime location but would be premature until the highlighted issues were resolved.

The council also requested WAPC to engage in further discussions with the City, landowners and other stakeholders to review the land required to be included in an expanded coastal reserve, and that an ‘urban deferred’ zoning be considered to allow for more planning to be completed prior to a transfer to the urban zone.