Rarely A Dull Moment - The Hilton Park Junior AFL Oval & Trees Removal Issue Resolved by Council

Welcome back to our regular feature, Rarely a Dull Moment where we report on the highlights of City of Fremantle Council and occasionally Committee meetings and other activities. We would have titled the feature Never a Dull Moment, but didn’t want to overpromise!

In 2026, we are very pleased to welcome Jenny Archibald to the RADM desk. Jenny will be well known to many Freo folk as a former Mayor, Deputy Mayor and Councillor of the City of Fremantle. Jenny brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to her new role as our RADM reporter and we are sure Shipees will look forward to her regular RADM reports.

Welcome readers to our RADM report for the Special Meeting of Council – 29 September 2026.

Overall, the Special Meeting of Council of 29 September was a very passionate affair with many heartfelt comments from both the public and the elected members. It was certainly a moment of reckoning for councillors who earnestly justified their track record on the tree and environment front.

To recap – over the past few weeks, and with the shovels almost ready to go, a number of residents found that 26 trees, including 6 large Norfolk Pines, were to be removed to accommodate a junior AFL football oval at Hilton Park. This proposal was the result of a process in 2023 and 2024 during which the overall Hilton Park Masterplan was developed, and was then approved by Council on 25 September 2024.

Within a week or so of learning about the demise of said trees, a petition of 548 signatures was rallied and a Special Electors Meeting was requested to contest this proposal. Work was then halted by the CEO, Glen Dougall, and a process of earnest discussion followed. A Special Meeting of Electors was subsequently held on 15 September 2026 at the Fremantle Town Hall.

The outcome of that meeting, along with staff reports, were the subject of the first item of this Special Council Meeting of 29 September. The second item on the agenda provides an update on the Hilton Park Precinct Redevelopment project and outlines the project planning, investigations and design development undertaken since adoption of the Hilton Park Precinct Masterplan, and the third considers the tender for Hilton Park North – Design and Construction at Hilton Park.

Public question time – with some 40 members of the public in the room, there were 57 minutes of public questions and comment, all in the spirit of good Fremantle debate. Seventeen people spoke, with 10 people opposed to the Hilton Park Masterplan and the remainder either supporting the proposal or seeking clarification on specific aspects of the design and intent. Topics that were raised included:

• the quality of consultation – called “extensive by Council” but many people weren’t aware of the project for the junior oval and the loss of 26 trees – one resident stating “how can you object if you don’t know about it in the first place?”

• requests for a breakdown of grant and ratepayer funds given the costs.

• the loss of mature trees and canopy, bird habitat, and asbestos disturbance, plus concern that the plan conflicts with the city’s own green policies.

• Questions on club growth, who is this serving (locals or others?) and use of school ovals, and asking what the wider community benefit is.

• And others supporting the plan – with local Margaret Kerr stating that she was aware of the excitement it generated when it was approved by Council, and the President of the Fremantle City Dockers Junior Football Club clarifying that itwas approved two years ago, sporting reserves are over capacity, and the delay should end.

So, with no petitions, deputations nor elected member communications, we move on to the elected member debate.

The Headline and Only Story – Trees and the Hilton Park Masterplan

This has been a debate more specifically about the removal of 26 mature trees. It appears to include five species – two Eucalyptus maculata (Victorian Ash), eight Corymbia citriodora (lemon scented gum), two Eucalyptus gomphocephalus (Tuart), eight Agonis flexuosa (Wa Weeping Peppermint), and six Araucaria heterophylla (Norfolk Pines)(my interpretation of the map…). However, the broader discussion has raised many issues relating to land use, community expectation and public consultation, commitment to creating tree canopy within the city and how we might better create ecologically sustainable habitat.

The debate by elected members was certainly a passionate one – and given many have spent a good number of years defending and promoting our trees and environment, it was certainly a meeting where their heartfelt words were on the table.

With Cr Sullivan opening the debate, he acknowledged that the room was “full of activists…which most people in Fremantle are one way or another”. He reminded people of his long-standing record as a defender of the environment, working on many projects over several decades, and that “every effort was made to identify the environmentally sensitive trees that were important to ecology and to actually do everything that we could to save those”. Overall, his view was that the ecological footprint will be significantly better under the redevelopment plan and that the use of the park is predominantly for active recreation.

Cr Camarda recorded his appreciation for the opinions of both sides of the debate but feels that “the process has been a thorough one”. He also noted that “female sport needs to be accommodated”– a comment also reiterated by other elected members – and that“Our sporting facilities in Fremantle are crying out for upgrades”. In summing up he said “it’s vital that the ecological value canopy and overall amenity is improved because we all crave a better amenity and we want to live in a city that has great canopy, and that you know is able to thrive as well. But it’s hard because we’re in a city, so it’s again on balance…”.

Following this, Mayor Lawver added in responding to the concerns raised that “Yes, we are listening. We have heard that the city (staff) has provided more information back to the public than ever before ….and it definitely shows that our community wants to know the minute details …that councillors themselves haven’t been privy to necessarily in the past….”. A little later in the meeting he commented that some of the online dialogue – “usually from anonymous or clearly fake profiles have often been absent of facts, clearly designed to mislead our community and/or personally attack people, not just elected members. Some of those fake profiles even spent hundreds of dollars on social media advertising that furthered their bizarre, misleading narrative. So, my apologies for anyone who had been sucked into those false realities”.

Cr Slaughter, whose ward (like Cr Mofflin) includes the Hilton and Beaconsfield area, was no doubt put on the spot – but she felt that “all the information is in front of us”, and that they had received “hundreds of emails both for and against”. In the process of the city growing, she remarks “that we can’t always not do harm…the city needs to grow and adapt…that it won’t look like keeping every single tree…” With regard to concerns around asbestos in the two mounds along the eastern border, Cr Slaughter considers that “…it is environmentally irresponsible for the council, once they know that there’s asbestos there, not to remediate”.

Likewise, Cr Williamson Wong reiterated that “the whole reason that I am sitting here is because I too am driven by environmental issues, and climate change, and wanting to make the future better for my generation and the generations after me”. Likewise, she agreed that with regard to the asbestos, “it is not an option to leave it in the ground…and that these works can’t be avoided”. She also noted that the Hilton Park outcome “will be built to last” and “will be a better long-term outcome”. With respect to public comments on consultation, Cr Williamson Wong stated “The city has been clear about what is going on and I truly do believe that the consultation process has been thorough, particularly so because in the last few months that design and project has been tested again and when concerns were raised we paused works and that has allowed us to listen, engage and complete further investigations to really test whether or not we actually did get it right in 2024”.

With respect to the sporting facilities, Cr Williamson Wong added “There’s no basis for the claim that members of these clubs come from outside Fremantle. And if they do, then we should be celebrating that people want to spend their time here. It’s been clear throughout this process that growth in clubs has also come because of an increase in girls and young women playing sport. Something that many young girls and women have been excluded from for many years. And I’m not going to make a decision that jeopardizes those opportunities for young girls and women to participate in sport”.

Cr Mofflin ensured residents present that “we haven’t sat by and put our fingers in our ears” – instead “halting all clearing and stopping tree removal” so that appropriate consideration of the concerns expressed could be considered. He also noted that for the development proposed for Hilton Park overall, planting of many native species will create better habitat…that “removal of the trees is justified given the net value increased canopy across our city”…and that for sporting clubs, “hundreds of children will be using the facilities”. In closing, he added “our sporting clubs now are providing that environment of inclusion, building physical and mental well-being and social connection that we so greatly need within our community. And our city has a responsibility to support these clubs which do so much of the heavy lifting for our broader community”.

To add, Cr van Dorssen reiterated “I do appreciate everyone’s views on tree canopy and wanting to retain trees. We share those. I think in this instance ….we’ve just landed that the benefits of this proposal will outweigh (the alternative)”. She also commented that Council had a commitment to retain trees whenever possible, and that the Hilton Park Master Plan balanced a number of competing needs.

Then lastly to Cr Clark, a Town Teams aficionado, emphatically noted that “tree removal certainly got her attention” and that “mature trees do matter”. She also summarised the rigorous work of staff and CEO, Glen Dougall, in getting answers to the many questions from both the public and the elected members (and thiswas reiterated throughout the meeting by others). She also reminded the meeting of the Commonwealth grant of c.$3.75M(from the Thriving Suburbs Program) for the project – which she saw as a “celebration for our community”. But overall, like many of her colleagues, she leans on the fact that there will be “a far better ecological outcome”, and that we can have “a park that is ecologically richer”.

Cr Sullivan then moved an amendment to SC2609-1 CONSIDERATION OF SPECIAL MEETING OF ELECTORS DECISIONS, which includes additional research work to be carried out over the next 12 months reviewing the various policies of the city around trees and their retention, and the city’s urban forest development. Cr Williamson Wong also convinced Cr Sullivan to add an additional part that extended this review to look at areas within the city that can be regenerated to provide ecological benefit and habitat creation. Then Cr Sullivan added another amendment relating to a review of opportunities for future recreation and sports within the city to accommodate future growth. With all amendments approved, the motion as a whole was then approved unanimously.

The second item, SC2609-2 HILTON PARK PRECINCT MASTERPLAN, included “information regarding sporting infrastructure demand, tree retention investigations, environmental assessments, asbestos management considerations, funding arrangements, and project delivery implications. The report also responds to matters raised by members of the community regarding the proposed junior oval and associated tree removal and should be read in conjunction with the separate report addressing the motions carried at the Special Meeting of Electors held on 15 September.” It is a comprehensive review of the project and process over the past few weeks, with a recommendation to proceed with the project – which was supported unanimously.

Junior oval as per the approved Hilton Park North Environmental Management Plan March 2026.

The final item on the agenda was C2609-12 TENDER FCC704/26 – HILTON PARK NORTH DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION,recommending that Council accepts the tender submitted by Phase 3 Landscape Construction Pty Ltd in accordance with the tender evaluation undertaken as per the selection criteria included in the tender document. The total budget for the project is some $8.6M and the tender value is $6,549,295. Likewise, this motion was approved unanimously by the Council.

Quite a journey – but from this, some good thoughts on how the City might better manage public consultation in the future, and there will be analysis of future sporting and recreation sites along with a review of opportunities for our ever so important future urban forest, urban bushland and tree retention overall – not to mention a junior oval for a bunch of Fremantle City Dockers. One might say a good outcome after all.

Signed off at 20.04pm. Goodnight Freo.

*By Jenny Archibald

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