Q&A
It looks like a lot of areas have been taken over for hydrozoning is there a danger of reducing the walkable areas within the park too much?
At the scale of the plan it is hard to see but there will be multiple paths through to the playground and walking routes within the hydrozoned areas. The path of travel will just be different from the normal, and a lot more interesting with the planting that will take place next winter. The area has been reduced slightly to reflect the feedback, see the section titled Next Steps, below.
Will there be BBQ facilities, like those at Grigg Park?
No, unfortunately we are unable to include BBQ facilities, this is related to the City’s Community, Sport and Recreation Facilities Plan 2021-2031 (soon to be released to the public) which outlines a Hierarchy of Parks which has designated Griffiths Park as a local park. If a park has BBQ facilities it is designated as a Local Park under the hierarchy and would require toilets to be installed. Grigg Park’s BBQ facilities pre-dates the Hierarchy of Parks.
Is there a way to move the playground from its current planned location as it would create more wide-open space for activities?
The placement of the park has been designed with children’s safety in mind. In its proposed location it is the farthest distance from roads/traffic which could pose a danger to their safety. This is particularly important as the playground area won’t be fenced off.
Will there be enough shading by the playground and surrounding seats?
The concept plan is designed to maximise the use of existing shade throughout the park. The City’s tree planting in the area will also increase shade in the future.
Can more challenging play facilities for children aged 5-12yrs be included e.g. Monkey Bars?
The City is currently investigating the opportunity to include Monkey Bars as a play offering. The existing Fort does contain various climbing challenges that are suitable for a range of ages to use, which may not be clear in the image that was included.
The park is on a slant and with the available space is a Kick-about area with goals really needed?
Footy goals were one of the items requested by younger people in our engagement process, they have been reappropriated from another Fremantle sporting field at no cost to this project. The goals won’t be the only thing to do in that area, it is intended to be more of a kick/practice space and can still be utilised by others for dog walking, frisbee and picnics etc. It is not intended to be a formal sport area, so the slope is not a concern.
Why is a Kick-about needed at the cost of maintaining tree life in the park?
The trees proposed to be removed in the kick-about area at Griffiths Park were deemed to be structurally unsound. As part of the upgrade, additional tree planting will include more trees than is being proposed to be removed, in line with the City of Fremantle’s goal of 20% tree canopy coverage.
Archived Q&A's
- which species are present in the park;
- which species/ trees provide critical environment and ecological services to Hilton;
- how the trees provide character to the park and Hilton;
- which species are in ill health which needs treating or, if beyond remediation, need to be removed;
- what measures we need to take during construction to protect the trees (such as root protection zones);
- identify opportunities to improve the ecology, environment and character of the park through future tree planting.
- Play space renewal – the current combination unit in the park is over twenty years old and needs to be renewed as part of playground works across the City of Fremantle. As expectations of playgrounds have changed over this time the City would like to understand the local community's preferences for the style of renewal.
- Conversion of the sump to an open swale – The existing sump is an outdated approach to stormwater management. Swale’s (or bioswales) are considered to be a more modern approach which provide attractive public spaces, create habitat for wildlife and manage stormwater.
- Hydrozoning and irrigation replacement – the existing irrigation is costly to maintain and the water use can be reduced by both new irrigation and hydrozoning.
What is the process for this project?
As well as using the existing engagement input we have about this space we will be gathering community input from local school students, online on My Say Freo and at the drop-in session.
The community ideas and needs we hear will then 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 implemented. It’s important to us to offer this opportunity for feedback but as the project is grant funded we have a fixed timeline and this stage will be shorter than usual. We expect the draft concept to be ready in September 2021.
Following this it will progress to detailed design, where changes are sometimes required based on final costs. Installation / construction will be timed to avoid the school holidays and will commence February 2022.
If you register or participate in the project and provide your email address you will be kept up to date on the progress. The My Say Freo page will also be kept up to date on the current status.
What is the budget for the upgrade?
There is a fixed total budget of $347,000 which is grant funded by the Federal government. Included within this is $100,000 for the play space (which could include play equipment and boulders, timber logs and steppers), $132,000 for the swale (earthworks and planting within the swale), $100,000 for irrigation and hydrozoning (mulching and preparing the park for future planting, most likely as part of our winter planting in 2022) and other works. It would not allow for the relocation or addition of high-cost items such as lighting, BBQs or toilets, which are not provided in local neighbourhood parks.
Why is the irrigation being upgraded?
In order to improve the condition of the turfed areas at Griffiths Park, we will be replacing the irrigation system. At the same time, we are proposing to hydrozone areas where turf is difficult to maintain or no longer required.
The existing irrigation system is old and very costly to maintain. Upgrading the system to a waterwise one will greatly reduce water use from the current output. Adding hydrozoning to this will decrease water consumption further.
What is hydrozoning?
In this instance, hydrozoning would involve removing non-water wise turf areas and turning them into mulched areas, some of which can be planted with water wise native plants and trees. Hydrozoning also involves grouping plants of similar water needs together in order to conserve water.
The City of Fremantle is conscious of Western Australia's water scarcity and is committed to innovative strategies to improve water use efficiency. We are an accredited Waterwise Council with Gold status.
What does a sump converted to a swale look like?
Sump conversions are quite popular and can be found across Perth’s suburbs. If you would like to have a look at one in the City of Fremantle, we recommend visiting the converted sump along Hope Street in White Gum Valley. A couple of example images are shown below.
What is happening with trees in the park?
We will ensure mature trees in the park are protected through the upgrade. Where mature trees appear in poor health which can be treated, the City will take steps to remediate the trees.
Some trees may need to be removed due to a range of issues including their decline from age or unrecoverable health issues. We anticipate some young trees which are poorly placed and are exhibiting health issues like being rootbound, may need to be removed. The City will ensure additional tree planting, in appropriate locations will be included in the proposed design. This will be presented for your feedback in a future stage.
What trees are currently in Griffiths Park?
A tree audit has been completed in June 2021 identifying 129 trees in the park, of diverse species. This information information tells us:
You can access a copy of the audit via the document library.
What changes will be made and why?
There are three main changes which are grant funded for Griffiths Park:
New pedestrian access will also be added from Nicholas Crescent to the playspace.