FREO VISIONING 2029 NEEDS ANALYSIS

The Fremantle Visioning 2029 community project has left a sour taste with many in Freo. I have talked with a lot of people-including some Fremantle Councillors-over the holiday break and no one has said a good word about it.

Questions were raised why the final report is a mere summary of the workshops rather than the detailed analysis we were expecting from consultant James Best, who reportedly received over $ 80,000 to conduct the project. One Councillor told me that fewer workshops have been conducted than contractually agreed on, so what is going on and who at the City of Fremantle is responsible for making sure we receive value for money for this project? The report claims for example that nearly 1,000 people participated in the workshops, but that is factually wrong because many of the 1,000 people attended multiple workshops, so the actual figure of people who participated is much lower than claimed.

Did anyone research if the consultant has the academic knowledge to analyse complex community issues, or was he being engaged as an expert consultant because he is a former Mayor of South Perth? Who was responsible for selecting the consultant and who is responsible for now making sure we will get a decent analytic report of the community process? The Town of East Fremantle has also appointed the same consultant to do a Visioning 2029 there, so let’s hope they’ll insist on a much better end report than the City of Fremantle received, and presumably accepted as satisfactory.

Fremantle sometimes gets into high water with its consultants with former COF Manager Economic Development and Marketing Andrew Eastick claiming the City followed the wrong ‘expert’ advise on the Kings Square development, that now appears to be in limbo. The Fremantle community deserves to know what selection process the COF has to appoint consultants. Do they need to tender and who at COF are on the panel that makes those decisions to spend good money on consultants?

The flimsy Fremantle Visioning 2029 report is not good enough for all the money the ratepayers paid for it. A Personal Assistant could have put together the lazy, plain and uninspiring summary of the workshops held. I attended at least five of them and feel I wasted my time-yet again! In contrast to that one should see the professional report by CODA on the Victoria Quay development. While the same butcher paper method was used as at Visioning 2029, at least Fremantle Ports received an analytic and detailed report about the community workshops. What COF received is not worth the paper it is written on.

James Best is quite clearly respected as an expert on local government as he has been appointed by the WA Government as the Commissioner for York, as that troubled Council has been sacked. That makes the report the City of Fremantle received even more disappointing.

Roel Loopers

CLAYTON LAUNCH OF FREO VISIONING 2029

That was a bit of a Clayton launch of the Fremantle Visioning 2029 document last evening, with the document not available till Monday. Not something that has ever been attempted at a boat launch or building opening I think, but let’s move on.

Mayor Brad Pettitt-who is not a great public speaker- did a good and competent presentation and clearly felt good in his skin and was nicely relaxed, while consultant James Best and CEO Graeme McKenzie are always confident about their role.

* What could tomorrow and the next 50 years be for Fremantle?

* How do we create a liveable, vibrant sustainable city for the 21st century? 

It was all about the Collective Vision for Freo’s future and that over 950 people attended the five community workshops, 3 stakeholders forums and a combined precincts forum, and thousands followed the process on social media, James Best told us. I need to point out here that I went to all the workshops and often saw the same faces, so the 950+ people participation is not the figure of individuals participating, but just adding numbers of people attending, even when many of these people went to several of the workshops.

The process, we were told, is about the action WE ALL need to take TOGETHER and I believe that is a fair point as too often we expect governments to do it without the community taking ownership. Fremantle has got great creative people with a high interest in community-building and city planning and we are the ones that should be bringing ideas forward and not rely on elected members and a few consultants to come up with the best ways of moving Freo to the future.

The question is how to integrate all the issues, how do we connect, get a sense of meaning, a unity of purpose, an agreement on priorities, and community involvement with the transformative process, the Mayor talked about.

I was not the only one who was very surprised to hear that one of the outcomes of all the consultation was a strong desire for more and cheap periphery parking, because I only heard that mentioned once during all the events I attended. I hope that the document once available on-line on Monday will not have been ‘cooking the books’ to create the outcomes council desires.

Avenues of trees are wanted and 1,000 trees a year will be planted in Fremantle, we want retail that captures the Freo spirit, more than 1.3 million visitors come to Freo each year, the Esplanade might grow and expand to Norfolk Street and that street could be extended to the waterfront at Mews Road.

As I said to Brad Pettitt after the presentations, integration is essential when Fremantle develops periphery parking by making streets more walkable-friendly, with seats, lingering nodes, shade,etc. so that people can enjoy the journey from the carparks into the shopping destinations. Just putting carparks on the edges of the CBD won’t work, so street beautifications need to start at the same time as new carparks are being built.

Good to hear that a new trial closure of the Cappuccino Strip will start on Sunday December 21 and will continue on Sundays during summer. I hope COF learned lessons from the last failure by providing seating, shade, entertainment, expand alfresco areas, etc, because just closing the street for vehicles alone won’t do.

In February next year the Fremantle Transformative Moves will be launched.

I’ll read the Fremantle Visioning 2029 document when available on Monday and ill report more on the findings then.

Roel Loopers

FREO 2029 VISION TO CREATE A BETTER PLACE

Tomorrow, Thursday December 4 from 6-7 pm Fremantle Mayor Brad Pettitt will launch the FREO VISIONING 2029 report at Victoria Hall. Doors open at 5.30.

Visioning 2029 consultant James Best held  a large number of workshops that covered all aspects of the community, so the report should be a very interesting read and is substantial, the Mayor told me this morning.

I don’t want to steal Brad’s thunder, so here just a view points of the report to wet your appetite and entice you to come to the event tomorrow evening.

The KEY ISSUES that were brought up at the workshops were:

* slowing traffic, making city better for pedestrians and cyclists

* supporting independent small businesses and the creative sector

* protecting and enhancing the natural environment, green spaces and the heritage features of the city

* improving connection to the waterfront

KEY THEMES that emerged from the workshops were:

# People: a welcoming place for all people

# Prosper: a diverse and unique local economy and a recognised centre of excellence

# Plan: a liveable city that serves its residents’ needs

# Green: a city that values its environment and heritage

# Create: a dynamic, innovative city with a strong knowledge economy and arts sector

# Decide: a collaborative and connected community with a shared vision and good governance

Roel Loopers

AND ANOTHER FUTURE PROJECT FOR FREMANTLE

From the City of Fremantle website today: The Committee for Perth announced today (Wednesday 17 September 2014) at the Fremantle Leaders Luncheon that it is undertaking the landmark Future Freo project that will use evidenced based research to closely examine greater Fremantle.
The year–long project will produce a report that will detail Fremantle as it is today as well as identify opportunities and challenges to ensure that the region is an economically sustainable and vibrant place to live, work, play and invest for current and future generations.

I wonder though where Fremantle City is going with all its surveys and strategic planning because nothing appears to be integrated. We are still waiting for the release by consultants James Best of the very lengthy Visioning 2031 project and the very many workshops. In the meantime the City has formed a Special Projects Committee that will start from scratch without access to the Visioning 2031 report and so will the Committee for Perth.

Surely a better approach would be to read the findings of previous projects and use them as a base to move forward from.

Roel Loopers

WHY VISION PROJECT SO CLOSE TO AMALGAMATION?

I am slightly bewildered to read in the Fremantle Gazette that the Town of East Fremantle is allocating $ 30,000 to do a visioning project with consultant James Best. With the announcement by State Government on local council amalgamations imminent one has to wonder about the value of such a project for the East Fremantle community, even more so since the City of Fremantle already conducted their Visioning 2029 project last year.

It is anticipated that Fremantle and East Fremantle will merge with some parts of Melville and Cockburn, so any planning for the future should consider that and should be inclusive of the entire new local council. Why not wait until the Minister for Local Government announces the new boundaries and then do a visioning project for the new and much larger council?  That would be far more cohesive and useful, I believe, as the outcomes of the workshops would embrace the entire new City of Fremantle.

The City of Fremantle will receive a report by James Best on the Visioning 2029 workshops, similar to the City Centre Masterplan done by the City of Auckland in 2012, that has a twenty-year vision for that city and sets the direction for the future of the city.

One of the concerns I have with the Fremantle Visioning 2029 project is that there was not a lot of participation by younger people and that needs to be addressed somehow. We should not plan the future of our city without knowing what the generations who will live here in 30 years from now want. I can’t recall to have been asked at any of the workshop what my age is, so there will be no record of the demographics of the Visioning 2029 participants. We need to learn to engage the younger people of Freo more in planning the future of our city.

I am very excited about Fremantle amalgamating and growing into a substantial city. I also hope that a larger Fremantle will receive more support from State Government, as I can’t recall any substantial State projects in Fremantle in the last 10 years. Freo deserves better than that. The State has an obligation to also support the metro region and councils outside Perth.

Roel Loopers

FREMANTLE VISIONING 2029 NEEDS TO GO ON LINE

I have been wondering about the Fremantle Visioning 2029 project as it seems to me that it is done much the same way as most previous community workshops that don’t embrace and involve internet technology. (A cynic might think that an on-line presence for these kind of community workshops is not in the best interest of the consultants).

Community workshops in general are regimented and have similar formulas. People sit around in groups and discuss what is important to them, or specific subjects, they write ideas and issues on butcher paper and questionnaires, one of them will be the spokesperson for the group who reports back at the end of the session to the entire workshop. After that the consultants take all this to their offices and analyse them, to report back to the City of Fremantle at a later stage of what the preferences of the community are, BUT!!! I see a problem here because not many people attend community workshops and more often than not we see the same faces at these events. That is restrictive as we do not find out what those in the community who do not attend these workshops think. They might be complacent or shy, they might not be able to leave their families, or are working while the workshops are on, whatever the reason, we miss out finding out what the majority of people in our community believe is important to the future of our city and that is not right.

I think it would be a very good idea for consultant James Best‘s company to set up an on-line community forum for Visioning 2029 in the form of a blog or so, where all members of the community can have a say about our future without having to leave their homes. That way we might actually get a true representation of what Freo people think and what they want to happen in our city.

I think futurist experts would call my idea a doable quick-win solution. It is also pretty cost-effective as it does not require a hall, people driving, catering, etc.

Roel Loopers

WHAT’S YOUR VISION FOR FREO’S FUTURE?

A media release from the City of Fremantle, so I publish it in full and hope the community will turn up en mass for the next Visioning 2029 workshop.

  NEWS RELEASE – Thursday 18 July 2013

Visioning 2029 – what do you think are the key challenges we will face in the future ?

“What will the future look like?” is a conversation that the next Fremantle 2029 workshop will have on Thursday 25 July in Fremantle with visioning facilitator James Best. “How different will future conditions be, is Fremantle resilient in the face of changing Global factors, what are the local trends and issues that could impact on our quality of life,” said Mr Best.

James Best is a Futurist and the 2012 National Planning Champion, and passionate about working together with stakeholders to ensure the future is as good as locals and traders imagine. “Building on the July workshop where 94 local residents spoke passionately about what they love about Fremantle and its people, this workshop will consider what Fremantle could be when it celebrates its 200^th anniversary in 2029

Mr Best said he future doesn’t just happen, we need everyone together to be thinking how we make a brighter future, for tomorrow and the next fifty years.”

Some of the questions we might ask ourselves are: what could the future hold, is Fremantle capable of being a vibrant city that welcomes everyone or destined to host vacant shops in beautiful old buildings ? What role does retail play in the future, what impact will climate change have, will an aging population need us to think differently about community ?

The output from all these conversations are being recorded on the web and social media, www.freo2029.com.au, Facebook, twitter @freo2029, and videos of events, presenters, vox pops on www.vimeo.com/channels/freo2029 ‎

One of the key themes emerging is the strong sense of community, a city where the community celebrates the values and social connections found in a country town, with the benefits of a city infrastructure and services for people to live, work and play in Fremantle.

Some of the big ideas and quick wins discussed at the July workshop include strengthening the strong sense of community and local economy, a focus on living affordability for ordinary people, improving connections between the city centre and suburbs with public transport such as more cat buses, bike friendly infrastructure and in time Light Rail, and looking for a sustainable approach to business, community and the environment in a drying climate.

This is your opportunity to be part of a conversation about how can Fremantle best ensure that the quality of its lifestyle, community values and natural environment are retrained as the Perth Metropolitan area grows ?

Come and be part of this important conversation on Thursday 25 July from 5.30 for a 6pm start until 9pm at Drill Hall at 19 Mouat Street, Fremantle.

RSVP essential at www.freo2029.com.au