Q&A

The current combination unit on Shepherd Street is over 20 years old and needs to be renewed as part of playground works across the City of Fremantle to replace non-compliant units.

As expectations of playgrounds have changed over time the City would like to understand the preferences of users for the style of renewal.

Based on the community ideas and needs, as well as the budget, a concept design will be developed by a landscape architect and presented for feedback.

We will be gathering input from the online survey, drop-in session and other methods. 

The community ideas and needs we hear will be developed into a concept design by a landscape architect. This will be presented back to the community for feedback, before being amended as required and put forward for budget. 

The installation stage will be dependent on what the final design contains, so further updates will be provided. You can check on the current status on the main project page under 'timeline'.

There is a fixed budget allocation of $180,000 for this type of playspace that will be requested in the 2020/21 financial year. This allocation is based on the site catering to both local residents and sport and recreation users.

The allocation covers everything from earthworks, limestone walls, soft fall under the playground unit, nature play, if that is what the community indicates, and the playground unit itself.

This project is part of the City's ten year playspace renewal plan, and the budget only covers changes to the playspace on Shepherd Street. Improvements to the wider park oval area are beyond the scope of this project.

Swings have been incorporated into the proposed playspace design to cater for this need, based on community ideas and needs, as well as the budget.

The swing set near the corner of Lefroy Rd and Shepherd St is still compliant and can be retained until it reaches the end of its life to avoid unnecessary costs. It will then be removed and not replaced. 

We only consider water play if there is a huge demand for it and that’s because being a One Planet Council and a Gold Waterwise Council we need to consider the amount of water that gets used in this type of play. 

While it can be recycled for re-use, this is costly and we end up losing too many other play items to allow for the pump, filters and underground infrastructure to ensure the water is safe enough to be re-used.

During stage one of engagement the demand was for nature play and climbing, which we have delivered in the design. 

Yes, the established trees are an important source of shade and amenity. The existing tree canopy was a positive factor when deciding to keep the playspace at this location. 

In stage one of engagement, we considered whether the playspace should remain in it's current location (Location A) or move to the south-eastern side of the oval near the existing basketball court (Location B). 

Location A was the preferred option and has been chosen for reasons such as proximity to facilities and existing shade, and others which you can find out more about in the engagement report(External link). However many people also saw the value of a potential youth zone at Location B, and this will be considered during masterplanning of Hilton Reserve which is expected to occur in the next 1-2 years. 

Some of the pros and cons we considered have been outlined below. 

OPTION A - CURRENT

PROS

• Mature natural shade.

• Close proximity to Brad Hardie Clubrooms, picnic settings, toilets.

• BBQ close by for family/group picnic events.

• Children are within line of sight of parents and spectators attending AFL/Cricket events.

• Proximity to disabled parking for all ability access to playground.

• Opportunity to expand upon and upgrade existing play area (reduce overall costs).

CONS

• Separated from Youth Area.

• Distance away from other sporting clubrooms.

OPTION B - NEAR BASKETBALL

PROS

• Proximity to Youth Area to consolidate playgrounds.

• Proximity to existing toilets.

• Easier access to residents east of Carrington St.

• Mid-way between Soccer Clubrooms and Brad Hardie Clubrooms.

CONS

• Limited mature natural shade.

• Limited surveillance from Brad Hardie Clubrooms.

• Proximity to parking.

• Requires relocation of 1 x Disc Golf hole.

• No BBQ or picnic settings.

• Increased overall costs due to no existing play area and distance from car park.