Rarely a Dull Moment - Wild NF, New Ferris Wheel, Urban Greening, Trees, THE BUDGET

“Money doesn’t grow on trees but trees are growing on us”.

This could be the takeaway from the Ordinary Council Meeting of last Wednesday, 10 July.

A short and sweet meeting at only an hour an a half, closing at 7:33pm! Quite impressive when you consider all the big ticket items discussed, including a few planning applications.

WILD BAKERY, 94 Thompson Road, North Fremantle – Partial Change of Use to Cafe/ Restaurant

The proposed change of use was unanimously adopted by Council as per the officer recommendation, which provides conditional approval including the following requirements:
• Operating only during the hours of 7am – 11am
• Providing bicycle parking
• Submitting a waste management plan for approval by the City.

The team behind Wild Bakery originally sought to set up a “hole in the wall” coffee and pastry shop without seating and limited car/bicycle parking but were warned by City staff that this would put them in the same land use category as a Fast Food Outlet, which isn’t permitted in this location.

The proposal itself now entails:
• Minor alteration to existing front window to allow for the sale of food and drink.
• Internal fit out of an area at the front of the existing warehouse to provide 14 seats for patron seating.
• Installation of internal partition walls within existing building.

Three submissions received during the advertising period for the proposal concerned:
• Speed of traffic along Thompson Road.
• Traffic congestion.
• Insufficient parking onsite and in the surrounding area.
• Increase in deliveries to the site.
• Impact to the amenity of the area.
• Impact from waste on the amenity of the area.

Councillors remarked that the bakery is a “very welcome addition to North Fremantle” that will service the locals and not cause traffic issues. It’s important people can get something in their local area as North Fremantle is “a series of islands cut off by roads”.

So now Wild Bakery has a real presence not only in South Fremantle but North Freo too!

NEW FERRIS WHEEL COMING IN SPRING

The Ferris Wheel lease agreement between Westshell Pty Ltd and the City, if you’ll pardon me, is wheely good news. While the old one was recently dismantled, as we reported at the time, we now get to have a new Ferris Wheel in Fremantle.

The old Ferris Wheel

Council resolved unanimously to adopt the proposed lease agreement for another ten years with a five year option, affecting a 336m2 area and transferring it from a mere licence, as before, to a lease agreement.

The report before the Council advised –
“the tenant currently pays an annual licence fee of $57,200pa + GST. In February 2024, officers undertook a market rent valuation which provided a market rent value of $43,599. The proposed rent that has been agreed with the tenant for the premises is $57,200pa + GST.”

All in the room seemed to agree it is a “significant investment into a long term future”.

As for the new Ferris Wheel itself, the tenant intends for it to be installed in early spring and there are plans to also serve food and drinks onsite.

We are told –
“The new 35m high, 100 tonne ferris wheel will include 24 fully enclosed, weather proof, 6 seater, wheel chair accessible gondolas, providing unobstructed 360 degree views all year round. The new wheel will be the same size as the previous wheel but will have two gondolas more, with one of these being a VIP gondola. The all white ferris wheel will have LED lighting within gondolas and also running along each main spoke of the front of the wheel. A 3m LED sign will also be mounted to the centre front of the wheel for advertising the ferris wheel itself. The use of the sign will be subject to approval via the relevant planning process. Souvenir ride photos will be made available for purchase as riders exit the gondolas.”

THE URBAN GREENING STRATEGY SURVEY

This was another item adopted unanimously at the Meeting.

There seems to be clear agreement that much more needs to be done to balance Perth’s urbanity with its greenery, including landscaping and tree canopy.

The Department of Planning, Lands, and Heritage, which is responsible for the Strategy, advise that the new Strategy will address –
• tree canopy measurement and reporting
• education and awareness
• urban heat identification and mitigation
• green linkages (looking at underutilised State Government land for greening opportunities)
• urban greening grant program.

Initiatives that could be considered include additional Government grant programs, events and incentives, a public education program, expanding successful planting and tree programs, improved tree canopy data and opportunities to partner with local government and community groups.

The City of Fremantle officer report astutely observed that currently “there is no comprehensive State Government policy framework regarding urban greening”, placing Western Australia out of touch with best practice, the rest of the nation, and the expectations of our own community.

The three key areas of focus, according to the City, are “education, regulation, and tree retention”.

You might recall the City of Fremantle’s verge gardens policy earlier this year which also makes an effort at tackling this important topic by encouraging locals to green up their verges.

Council noted that it is “very exciting that the State Government is taking a lead” on this and officers have done a great job in pulling this together.

Agreed. Kudos!

TREE PROTECTION AMD CANOPY INCREASE

Another unanimous Council decision involved the adoption of the officer recommendation stemming from the previous item.

At the Ordinary Meeting of Council on 20 December 2023, Cr Lawver moved a Notice of Motion (NoM) titled “Request for Options for Retention and Increase of Tree Canopy” and Council resolved at that time to:
1. Request the CEO provide a report within six months (June 2024) on options to retain existing trees and significantly increase tree canopy across Fremantle in line with Council’s Urban Forest Plan.
2. Noting the report should include comments on the feasibility of implementing the items outlined in this Notice of Motion, as well as any other measures the CEO would like Council to consider that might help meet or exceed the canopy goals in Fremantle’s Urban Forest Plan.

Credit Gibbelsmash

This report considered the proposal against the City’s current Urban Forest Plan, relevant planning policies from the City and other local governments dealing with the exact same matter (such as Kalamunda, Nedlands, and South Perth), and provided details of current operations and put forward the following recommendations –
• Request officers prepare a draft tree retention/protection policy, with consideration of the WALGA Tree Retention Model Local Planning Policy; and prepare any proposed revisions to Local Planning Policies 1.7, 2.10 and 2.23; to be brought back to Council for further consideration.
• Request a report be provided to Council to consider an expansion of the subsidised trees for the community program to include free resident trees for general planting and recommend a suitable budget consideration.

For your information, the Western Australian Local Government Association (WALGA) draft policy defines protected or “regulated trees” as per the following parameters –
• Is a living tree;
• Is eight metres or more in height; and/or
• Has an average canopy diameter of at least six metres; and/or
• Has a trunk circumference of at least 1.5 metres, measured 1.4 metres above the ground; and
• Is of a species that is not included on a State or local area weed register.

Cr Lawver thanked staff for the work that went into the report and admitted he “didn’t expect tangible outcomes from this”, rather to consider the future options, which this report does “really well”.

While Cr Sullivan confirmed his support for the item, he proposed an alternative recommendation to encourage more tree planting. The recommendation arose from concerns about investment and resourcing for the City. The City responded to advise that the intent is to ensure resourcing is responsive and “while we will do the planning now” the resourcing can shift at the implementation stage.

We also learned there is about an 12-18 month lead in, all up, to plant a tree. Curious!

Cr Graham wasn’t too fond of the alternative recommendation, querying whether elected members should get involved in tree planting quotas as the officers “have already been doing a good job”.

Cr Sullivan argued staff need “clear, strategic intent” as Budget Time clashes with planting time, so we need to provide ample notice of tree quotas to staff to allow them adequate time.

It is important to note there are fewer trees being planted this year and next, watering times are starting earlier due to scare rainfall, and there is the problem of our ever pesky Polyphagous Shot-Hole Borer (PSHB).

A convoluted issue indeed. But it leads to interesting and hopefully fruitful discussions.

Watch this space for Fremantle’s first Tree Protection Planning Policy!

ANNUAL BUDGET 2024-2025

The CEO proudly remarked that this is a “responsible balanced budget with a focus on renewal”, with a 5.4% rate increase that tries to balance costs with impact on the community.

Credit Scott Graham

This budget involves $130 million in operating and capital expenditure over the coming financial year with $19 million for delivering capital projects and $110 million for delivering services to the community.

Mayor Fitzharding observed the “process gets better every year” and thanked all the staff involved in it. The Mayor observed budgets are “never set in isolation”, and while not perfect the City has to raise the amount they spend each year on capital projects. She added that the budget is a “moment of reflection” to see whether City is meeting its goals.

Cr Mofflin remarked he is “proud to be a City of Fremantle councillor” based upon the robust discussions, compromise, and clear direction in the Budget.

In response to a community member query, the City advised upgrades to the Town Hall are budgeted and are not reliant on the sale of Victoria Hall.

Some items relating to Hilton Park are in this Budget, others will be delivered later as the exclusion of items in this particular budget does not mean they will not be delivered later.

Hopefully the placement of the new toilets at Beach Street near Captain Munchies won’t require the presence of a French army. And if you want to get that particular joke, you’ll just have to watch the video recording of the Meeting! If you’ve got some time in lieu, have a view.

PS – Speaking of budgets, Question Time raised some pertinent issues that warrant a mention.

South Freo Targeted Underground Power Program. A regular community asker of questions at Question Time expressed concerns that there will be a $1000 hit a year for ratepayers for 7 years. The question was taken on notice.

Another community member questioned the merit of a councillor trip to US naval shipyards for AUKUS in September this year. Local government members of the South West Metropolitan Alliance will be attending to better understand emergency management procedures, support for families of personnel, planning and logistics, business groups involved with construction of the Virginia Class submarines, and related matters. The cost of travel and attendance is $14,100 each for Mayor and CEO paid for directly by the Alliance.

Another series of questions concerned the Kings Square redevelopment and toilets, the Victoria Hall sale, the City’s Destination Strategy, and the order of critical documentation submitted alongside three trips to Canberra to discuss future redevelopment. A long discussion. Needless to say, setting a budget is not for the fainthearted.

Wishing you all a rainy but cosy remainder of July, take care Shippees.

Report by Gayle O’Leary

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