An educational pop-up shop in Fremantle will showcase sustainable housing designs that capitalise on the City of Fremantle’s new Freo Alternative planning framework for urban infill.
Housing Minister Peter Tinley will officially open the pop-up shop in the High Street mall today – a joint initiative between the Western Australian Apartment Advocacy (WAAA) and building designer John Damant.
The shop will present a number of housing design options commonly referred to as the ‘missing middle’.
It is a WA first for alternative housing design – using a shopfront to showcase a local planning scheme by marrying it to a community education program.
This fresh approach to urban infill and housing diversity aligns with the McGowan Government’s vision for meeting the needs of the Perth and Peel region community when the population reaches an estimated 3.5 million in 2050.
The Perth and Peel @ 3.5million planning and infrastructure frameworks guide infill development to deliver a more compact and connected city.
They also promote the connectivity and development of activity centres, corridors, industrial nodes, transport links and METRONET station precincts to drive employment opportunities outside the Perth central business district.
This is vital to achieving employment options where people live, thereby reducing the need for commuting long distances for work.
The State Government is also working to promote diverse, well-designed higher-density housing that meets changing demographic needs while also addressing local context, amenity and environment issues.
The Freo Alternative includes provisions for certain properties falling within specific sections of Fremantle as well as White Gum Valley, Hilton, O’Connor and Beaconsfield.
There is potential to better use these properties to accommodate our growing population, while maintaining open space and valuable tree canopy.
In certain cases, the Freo Alternative offers the chance to build three houses on property that previously housed one, while still retaining 70 per cent open space.
As stated by Housing Minister Peter Tinley:
“Although we have made huge improvements, Perth’s fringes continue to grow in contrast to our existing suburbs.
“It is crucially important that we take a creative approach to championing good quality infill development.
“WAAA’s ‘missing middle’ pop-up shop is a great example of how we can think outside the box and work towards improving the liveability and connectedness of our suburbs.
“The State Government has a 47 per cent infill target with a strong focus on offering a diversity of affordable housing options.
“Mr Damant’s Econest designs showcase smaller, affordable, diverse housing types – well located near the amenities of our existing inner and middle suburbs.
“He has created designs for every block of land in Fremantle, facilitating the Freo Alternative planning options.
“The City of Fremantle has also demonstrated leadership in this area with its progressive approach to housing density and design.
“I urge locals in and around Fremantle to drop into the shop during the next 12 weeks and see for themselves the options that are available.”
