SOUTH BEACH A CLASS PARKING TO CONTINUE

 

Good to hear that Fremantle Council did not support the motion by South Fremantle Councillor Marija Vujcic to ban overflow parking at Wilson Park at South Beach. At Wednesday’s digital meeting none of the other 12 elected members supported the motion, so overflow parking on busy summer weekends, for the Sunset Food Markets and other events will remain.

That is a pragmatic decision by council, because stopping parking on the A Class Reserve would have meant that many motorists would have to find parking in local streets, and that would have a negative impact on the residents in the area.

Roel Loopers

 

KEEP WILSON PARK FOR OVERFLOW PARKING

 

South Fremantle Councillor Marija Vujcic has given notice of a motion to be tabled at the Ordinary Council meeting this Wednesday.

Ms Vujcic believes that using the A Class Reserve Wilson Park for overflow parking during the summer months and for events held at South Beach is contradictory to the accepted use of an A Class Reserve.

Parking at South Beach is at a premium during the warmer months, and with the approved development of a tavern and brewery on the Sealanes site, parking will become even more of an issue.

Already local residents have been complaining of visitors to South Beach and events parking in nearby streets, so if overflow parking at Wilson Park would be stopped, this situation would get worse for South Freo residents.

The Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage has advised City officers that it considers the use of the Reserve for parking to be ancillary to the purpose of ‘recreation’.

I sincerely hope Fremantle Councillors will not support the motion by Councillor Vujcic, as it would have a negative impact on the South Beach Sunset Food Markets, concerts, and  beach enjoyment in general if people can’t find parking close by.

Roel Loopers

A STUNNING FREO SUNDAY

 

It is a stunning ANZAC weekend Sunday, so there are a lot of people around Fremantle going for rides on their bicycles, walking and driving cars.

I wandered over to South Beach and noticed a lot of pleasure crafts on the Indian Ocean as well, so people are taking advantage of the pleasant weather, while most are adhering to the social distancing rules.

WA Premier Mark McGowan announced this morning that from Monday, indoor and outdoor non work gatherings will be relaxed to 10 people and that the number of people allowed to be at weddings has increased to 10, the same as funerals

Roel Loopers

SOUTH BEACH PINES TO BE PRUNED

 

 

Arborists will attend to some of the Norfolk pine trees at Fremantle’s South Beach after there were reports yesterday of branches breaking off and heavy seedpods falling down.

One eager tree pruner was waiting for his colleagues this morning, but maybe not so clever to do that under one of the trees. At least he was wearing a hard hat. ; >)

The reason for the branches to break off, as also happened at the Esplanade and Point Walter, is that this season the seedpods are growing further away from the tree trunk and are also much bigger and heavier, some claim that is due to lack of water.

Roel Loopers

SOUTH BEACH FOOD MARKET STARTS TONIGHT

 

The first of the  SUNSET SOUTH BEACH MARKETS starts today and will run every Saturday night, weather permitting, till mid April.

The food market offers some 25 stalls with food from all over the world, live music, a bar, great sunsets, and a very relaxed community ambience.

My friend Linda will be there with her TREACLE TREAT stall selling Dutch flavourites, as she calls it, so try the delicious tiny fluffy poffertjes pancakes. Your kids will love you forever! YUM!!!!!!!!

The market is open from 5-9pm and it should be a nice warm night. Hop on the CAT bus to get there!

Roel Loopers

YOU GOT IT WRONG, FREMANTLE COUNCIL!

 

 

South Beach Sunset Food Market operator Georgie Adeane is not at all happy with Fremantle Council and the, FPOL Committee deferred decision, to put an Expression of Interest out to see if anyone else just want to take over from her after this summer because of the, in my opinion, City’s silly competitive lease/license policy.

Adeane told me that under the new proposed City charges she would be losing between $40,000-50,000 if she continued with the markets, so I presume it is unlikely she will put her EOI in.

Fremantle Council’s lack of understanding of how retail and hospitality actually works is very distressing, because it is highly likely that the very popular market, that attracts on average 5,000 people on the Saturdays it operates, will no longer be viable  if Council signs off on the EOI idea, and that this summer could be the last of it. That will not only create unfair hardship for Georgie Adeane but also to the 25 stallholders who will lose out on substantial income. These are small businesses Fremantle Council pretends to be supportive off.

A new operator would have to charge stallholders a whole lot more to be part of a new market to cover cost, or allow many more stalls at the event. Either way will cost the small businesses money as it will reduce their income.

A Council that relentlessly talks about activating Fremantle surely cannot let such a successful event disappear because Councillors and officers fail to appreciate the nuances of running markets and small businesses.

Maybe Georgie Adeane should rename the markets into the South Beach Green, Sustainable and New Innovation Markets and no doubt Freo Council would actually go out of their way to let her continue to run the market at South Beach.

This is a VERY BAD CALL, Fremantle Council, and it is one where you should just admit that the idea of an EOI and higher charges are wrong!

Roel Loopers

SOUTH BEACH MARKETS UP FOR GRABS

 

 

The FPOL Committee of Fremantle Council will this Wednesday deliberate about a new license for the South Beach Sunset Markets and an Expression of Interest period for new operators to engage in a competitive process to run the markets after the license of Georgie Adeane expires at the end of this season.

Georgie Adeane had the idea and started the markets on Bathers Beach in 2012 but was forced to move the already very popular market to South Beach in 2015 after the opening of the Bathers Beach House and a larger lease area for Kidogo Art House.

The markets attracts on average 5,000 people on every Saturday in summer between 5-9pm.

The City has invested $ 30,000 per year in the markets by providing free bins and paying part of the cost for generators, but now wants the next license to be an Events Agreement, not a License Agreement and the operators paying $ 95,154 per year, which would be reduced by 50% for three years.

The markets run for approximately 18 times a year, depending on weather conditions, with about 40 stalls, that reportedly pay $ 300 each to Georgie Adeane for being allowed to participate.

I personally find the competitive policy by the City of Fremantle rather strange as it punishes successful operators who do all the hard work to establish a new event or business, but once they have made it an attraction the City forces them to compete for a lincense with other interested parties, who can simply steal the intellectual copyright of the idea of the initial operator and reap all the benefits of all the hard work that was done in the first years to try to establish the business. Maybe Council could include a goodwill clause, so in case Georgie Adeane is not the new license holder she will receive a payout for making the markets such a popular event in Fremantle.

It is rather peculiar that the City’s competitive policy did not apply two months ago for a new lease for the public golf course, or that it never applies to Gino’s for example, so there appears to be a worrying inconsistency here that question the integrity of the policy.

Roel Loopers

HOW MANY MUSIC FESTIVALS FOR SOUTH BEACH?

 

The FPOL Committee of Fremantle Council will have to deal with the conundrum of how many festivals are sustainable for our Festival City.

Two event operators have requested to shift events from Port Beach to South Beach because of the uncertainty of the Port Beach erosion, but how many music and other summer events are acceptable to the South Fremantle community that is already getting the weekly Sunset Markets and a new tavern opening at the Sealanes site.

One also has to consider the beach goers whose local beach will be closed off and where parking will be a nightmare, so what is the solution?

Applications have been made for Sets on the Beach and Sundown Sessions, as well as For the Love music events on February 29, March 1 and March 7 so it would become very busy at South Beach.

City officers recommend that Council only approves one event at South Beach, but that would mean Fremantle loses two major events that would attract crowds of up to 5,000 each and that is not perfect either.

All events applied for are beach events so they can’t be shifted to Fremantle Oval or the Esplanade, and Bathers Beach is probably too small.

What will the preferred compromise be? Have your say at the FPOL Committee this Wednesday 6pm at the North Fremantle Community Hall.

Roel Loopers

SUNDAY MUSIC AT FREO’S SOUTH BEACH

 

BISTRO 21 on Fremantle’s South Beach will have live music sessions every Sunday in November through to February from 2.30pm on, so go and check it out.

Roel Loopers

SOUTH FREMANTLE FISH&CHIPS&ART

 

 

Fremantle has a new mural art work on the side of the South Beach Fish&Chips take-away on South Terrace.

The artist had not signed the work by this morning so I am not sure who did the art, but if I am correct the creation was done by Art by Destroy. Please correct me if I am wrong!

Roel Loopers