A 50-year plan to turn a Perth port into “one of the world’s greatest waterfront cities” has been endorsed by the Western Australian Government. 

The Future for Fremantle project to revitalise the Fremantle Inner Harbour was launched off the back of the state’s decision to make Kwinana, to Perth’s south, the preferred location for a new container port for long-term freight activities, to be called Westport. 

The Government has allocated $273 million to the Westport project to transition container trade to the area by the late 2030s.

Fremantle is known as Walyalup by its traditional owners and was for thousands of years a meeting place for First Nations peoples at the mouth of the Swan River. 

The Inner Harbour plan aims to deliver employment and residential opportunities as Fremantle is regenerated into a “self-sufficient waterfront city”.

The project would deliver 20,200 “new and diverse homes”—including 2400 affordable homes—for 55,000 new residents and an estimated $13.6 billion in gross state product annually, according to the concept plans.

The area under consideration covers 370ha of land and waterways, a similar size to Barangaroo in Sydney or Canary Wharf in London.

Future for Fremantle elements

▲ Source: Future for Fremantle Vision

The vision itself identifies six precincts; Rous Head, North Quay, Leighton, North Fremantle, South Quay and Victoria Quay.

Given Fremantle Port’s industrial past, the plan envisages adaptive reuse of heritage assets—already being undertaken in such projects as Lylo’s pod hotel and $110-million plans to adapt old Fremantle woolstores into residential space—as well as opportunities for new “landmark buildings” and “spaces for creativity and cultural exchange”.

There is also a focus on infrastructure, with potential future mid-tier transit connections, and the relocation of North Fremantle rail station. 

The net-zero Future for Fremantle plan aims to deliver “sustainable urban living” and connect Fremantle and its waterfront.

It required a three-phase plan that involved early stakeholder engagement, technical studies and an economic study for the area before it was put before the State Government, which has now approved the project.

The vision documents said that high density and taller buildings should be complemented with public realm considerations, stepped heights towards waterfront locations and slender buildings across the peninsula, with taller buildings dispersed to enhance solar access.

Timings for the project will be dictated by the relocation of trades from the inner harbour, determining when land and waterways become available for repurposing and redevelopment. 

Plans are in place to revitalise the Victoria Quay waterfront and improve its connections to Fremantle. The next step will be to progress more detailed precinct planning for that section before moving on to other precincts.