Published on Wednesday, 14 August 2024 at 4:54:48 PM
Following years of extensive community consultation, it has been an exciting and busy few months since the doors opened at the East Fremantle Community Park.
The East Fremantle Community Park was designed and developed as an integrated and financially sustainable community precinct where sports, leisure and recreation thrive together, for the use of all residents and visitors to the Town of East Fremantle.
As with any significant construction project, there have been inevitable delays and challenges. One of the current challenges is in relation to finalising commercial agreements with the East Fremantle Football Club due to a number of matters they wish to revisit.
Despite negotiating the details of commercial agreements with the East Fremantle Football Club for many months, the Club recently chose to prolong negotiations.
Unfortunately, there has been public commentary about the East Fremantle Community Park which is incorrect.
The Town has outlined below the following facts:
- Consultation – the Town began specific consultation with the community, sporting groups and architects in mid-2022, following four years of consultation to develop the plan for the redevelopment of the East Fremantle Oval site.
Community consultation formed the principles on which the design was based. This included a decision to remove the fence around the oval to make the park open and accessible for all.
It is a fundamental position for Council that the park be a welcoming destination without fencing, apart from a few football matches and WAFL finals. This was to encourage families and the local community down to watch the WAFL games and reinvigorate the sense of community and belonging.
The Town has continued to liaise with key stakeholders, including the East Fremantle Football Club, throughout the construction and commissioning phases of the project.
- Project funding and financial support – the facility has been funded by the Town ($8m), the State Government ($25m), Lotterywest ($1.345m for the playground and skatepark) and the AFL Facilities Fund ($250,000). The East Fremantle Football Club has not contributed to project costs.
In addition, the Town has provided free use of the Tricolore Community Centre building to the East Fremantle Football Club for administration and a player gym since their relocation in October 2022.
From 1 October 2022 until 31 December 2023, the Town also provided $13,000 per month (total $195,000) to the East Fremantle Football Club to offset the costs they incurred while the project was under construction.
- No ongoing costs – the East Fremantle Football Club has been provided with access to a modern facility where they will not have to pay any building or maintenance costs and will be provided with a share of the revenue from food and beverage sales.
This is a result of a carefully developed business plan and a unique partnership model. The modelling demonstrates that the East Fremantle Football Club is significantly financially advantaged in the new shared facility arrangement, compared to how they operated in the past.
- Safeguarding the community and our ratepayers – the model was designed to ensure operational viability for the facility, and the ongoing financial sustainability of the clubs and community groups located at the park, while safeguarding Town of East Fremantle’s residents and ratepayers from exposure to increased costs.
The Town is committed to working with each of the clubs and community groups moving into the East Fremantle Community Park to determine a fair deal for all, and to ensure the East Fremantle Community Park feels like a home for all.
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