Delivering daily | Project updates

The City is delivering over 100 exciting projects through the 2022–23 budget to make Freo an even better place to live, work or play!  

Check out what we've been up to in our October to December project update below. 

Facelift for Port Beach changerooms

The change rooms at Fremantle’s popular Port Beach have a fresh new look thanks to a makeover by the City of Fremantle.

The project included patching up the interior walls and applying a fresh coat of paint to the walls and benches, replacing the worn brackets supporting the bench seating and installing new clothes hooks.

New toilets were installed in the ladies change room, while the whole building has a new full flushing system to help avoid any future toilet blockages.

The accessible toilet also has a new shower head and repaired bench seating.

The Port Beach Polar Bears have been swimming at Port Beach every morning – rain, hail or shine – since 1992.

Polar Bears President Suzette Felton, who’s been using the change rooms almost every day for the past 25 years, said makeover was a dramatic improvement.

“The paint job is fantastic! It’s nice fresh paint and it’s certainly better now to walk in and see that,” Ms Felton said.

“We’ve got new toilets and cisterns, and all the rusted supports under the benches have been replaced, which is great.”

New cricket nets for Hilton Park

Cricket clubs in Fremantle celebrated the completion of the new practice nets at Hilton Park in December.

The worn-out old nets, which were used by Hilton Park Junior Cricket Club and Hilton Bicton Cricket Club, were removed in October as part of the City of Fremantle’s infrastructure renewal program.

The replacement of the nets was being supported through a $30,000 grant from Cricket Australia’s Australian Cricket Infrastructure Fund.

Hilton Junior Cricket Club President Wayne Horton said the new nets were essential for the continued development of the club.

“For us it’s everything. We’ve been trying to get these nets down so we can build the club and get bigger and bigger, which we have over the past few years,” Mr Horton said.

“We’ve come to stage now that we’ve got all of our teams filled up, so to have these nets available to train in is just perfect for us.

“They were also facing in the wrong direction, so we had the sun in our eyes which was very dangerous for the younger players. With these new nets, the safety factor alone is just brilliant.

“The new ones have the right positioning, plus they’ve got the rubber matting on the sides that helps to preserve the balls so we don’t have keep buying new ones all the time, which saves the club a lot of money.”

The new cricket nets at Hilton Park have three practice pitches, with an entirely new concrete slab, new artificial turf and new wire mesh.

They’ve also been realigned in accordance with Cricket Australia safety guidelines so players in the nets aren’t looking directly into the sun.

New footpath encouraging more kids to walk to school

Walking or riding a bike to school is now easier and safer for students in Beaconsfield thanks to a new footpath installed by the City of Fremantle.

The footpath along Duffield Avenue, near Winterfold Primary School and Christ the King School, is part of a broader program by the City to improve footpaths and pedestrian accessibility.

Duffield Avenue was one of the few residential streets in Fremantle that didn’t have a footpath.

In addition to the Duffield Avenue footpath, the City of Fremantle has also recently constructed a new footpath on Maxwell Street along the boundary of Beaconsfield Primary School.

Winterfold Primary School teacher and Your Move champion Julia Calvert said good footpaths were essential to encouraging students to walk or ride a bike to school.

“Your Move is a program run by the Department of Transport that is about encouraging fume-friendly travel and getting kids to walk and ride to school more,” Miss Calvert said.

“Apart from the health benefits of kids getting fitter and healthier by walking or riding it also activates their mind in the morning so they can get to school ready to sit and concentrate, plus it’s a social thing where they can meet up and walk with a friend.

“Having good footpaths like this one is really important because it gives the kids somewhere safe to walk and ride, rather than on the side of the road, and hopefully it will encourage more of them to do it.”

Fremantle Leisure Centre roof replacement

The roof replacement project at Fremantle Leisure Centre was completed just in time for the indoor pools to reopen for Christmas.

Fremantle Leisure Centre’s indoor 25m pool and family leisure pool had been closed from September to December to allow for the replacement of the roof.

The roof replacement project involved cleaning, sandblasting and repainting the existing steel pavilion structure before the installation of new roof sheeting.

The new roof is made of thermally insulated panels rather than the previous lightweight polycarbonate sheeting, which will make the pool environment warmer in winter and provide better UV protection in summer.

There are also new café blinds and improved ventilation along the sides of the pavilion and upgraded lighting, lightning protection system and electrics.

The former lightweight polycarbonate roof covering the pavilion over the pools had to be removed due to storm damage.

There’s never been a better time to visit Fremantle Leisure Centre, which boasts four heated pools – an eight-lane 50m outdoor pool, an undercover 25m pool, playground pool and a program pool for therapy and rehabilitation.

It also has a fully equipped fitness centre supervised by qualified gym staff, and offers a range of group fitness classes including yoga, pilates, zumba and circuits.

Full membership at the leisure centre includes unlimited access to the pools and fitness centre, entry to group fitness classes, a fitness appraisal and exercise program designed by qualified professionals, use of the creche, free parking and a 20 per cent discount in the sports shop.     

To find out more about Fremantle Leisure Centre visit fremantle.wa.gov.au/flc.

Leighton Beach accessible wheelchair matting

Leighton Beach is now even more accessible with the beach wheelchair matting extended to the shoreline in December 2022.

The matting was relocated to the entrance closest to the Leighton Beach Surf Life Saving Club, which shortens the distance to the beach and improves the view for patrols.

Beach wheelchairs and walkers are also available to help make it easier for people with disability to enjoy Leighton Beach.

Find out more about hiring here:

Road resurfacing projects

We’re investing $1.65 million into maintaining and improving the city’s roads through the 2022–23 budget.

From September to December, we resurfaced roads out in our suburbs including:

South Terrace, South Fremantle (from Scott Street to Jenkin Street) Watkins Street, White Gum Valley (from Edmund Street to Swanbourne Street) Edmund Street, White Gum Valley (from Samson Street to Watkins Street) Amherst Street, White Gum Valley (from the cul-de-sac to Watkins Street)

It’s all a part of our commitment to creating a safer, more connected city!

Paddy Troy Mall upgrade

Paddy Troy Mall is getting a fresh new look!

In December, we completed the first phase of upgrades, which saw new Jacaranda trees planted, kerbs improved and the removal of parking bays to make the mall more pedestrian friendly.

The second phase will bring exciting new street art, enhanced pedestrian connections and alfresco areas and improved landscaping.

Phase two will take place in the coming months and will be completed as night works for minimal disruptions.

More projects on the way 

We're delivering over 100 projects across the city as part of the 2022–23 budget. 

Stay up to date with progress through our handy interactive online map. Explore the map here.