An $87 million, four-storey police complex in Fremantle has been approved despite a high level of community opposition over the lack of consultation and site selection.
An $87 million police complex in Fremantle has been approved despite a high level of community opposition over the lack of consultation and site selection.
The Department of Finance, on behalf of WA Police Force, is proposing to build a four-storey Fremantle Police District Complex at 94 South Terrace.
The Metro Inner-South Joint Development Assessment Panel members approved the proposal, with a narrow margin of three votes to two, at its meeting today.
The project had attracted significant community criticism, particularly with the lack of public consultation on the site selection, bulk and scale.
More than 250 submissions of objections were received by the City of Fremantle after the council conducted its own public feedback process.
JDAP member and Fremantle councillor Andrew Sullivan said the project had been in the works since 2019 but the state government’s decision to take the subject site back came out of the blue.
“This has been a strategic planning failure for reasons that are partly to do with consultation, and part to do with site selection,” he said.
“The reality with policing these days, it’s not a civic use for these buildings where you see a library – it’s a restricted access, high security office complex that is more similar to the Chinese embassy.
“It exacerbates an already deactivated site of the city.”
The Stan Riley Centre was on the subject site until its demolition in 2017, and the lot had been redeveloped as an open air car park since.
City development approvals manager Chloe Johnston said there was a high level of community opposition, likely exarcebated by the lack of community consultation.
JDAP deputy presiding member Rachel Chapman supported the proposal but commented that she was disappointed on how the consultation process unfolded.
“I’d like to see some attention to that, to future proposals, about the way in which the proposal has evolved and the city has been brought for that journey evolution,” she said at the meeting.
“It resonates with me, the ‘why’ or ‘what’ was the factor in the level of submissions … I think it’s unfortunate and I think it’s a lesson learned to understand the site.”
The JDAP approved the proposal with conditions, including having a government architect on board for selection of material and traffic control in the area.
WA Police Assistant Commissioner Greg Knott said Fremantle needed a police district service with the area experiencing a high level of incidents including burglary, stolen vehicles, and offences against a person.
“Like Northbridge and Perth, you have a major entertainment precinct that needs to be policed,” he said at the meeting.
“Facilities in those areas are built for that purpose.”
Ass. Comm Knott said the Fremantle development would be of a similar size to the police district facility in Armadale.
In mid-2020, then-police Minister Michelle Roberts announced a plan to build a district office in Fremantle as part of a $96.5 million recovery plan to upgrade police stations across the state.
The state government allocated $35 million, on top of an already committed $52.6 million, towards the project in September 2021.
The original Fremantle police station was declared unsafe in 2013 because of severe asbestos issues, according to the development application.
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