Fremantle councillors lament nasty turn in tree debate as oval plans push ahead

More than a month after works to remove 26 trees at a popular playing fields in Perth’s south to make way for a new junior football oval were paused, the project is officially up and running again

Despite a three-hour special electors meeting earlier in September, where residents fought to stop the tree removal altogether, City of Fremantle councillors unanimously voted to support the original plan for the Hilton Park oval redevelopment last night.

Councillor Andrew Sullivan said the situation was challenging due to everyone in Fremantle being an “activist” – including himself.

“This room is full of activists, and I say that because I’m one, and I look around the chamber, and I know most people in this room, at one stage or another, have fought really hard for something that they value in their lives, or in their friends’ lives, or in their family’s lives, or the like,” he said.

“This issue that’s before us is something that is very concerning for a lot of people from different perspectives, and it was appropriate to take the time to pause the process and to give another opportunity for people to be heard, in a process which I believe there has been a lot of opportunity for people to be heard.

“But that doesn’t always mean that everybody has been heard, and it doesn’t always mean that we should close ourselves off to that continual listening that I think Fremantle prides itself on.”

A total of 26 trees, including towering Norfolk pines, were marked to be felled as part of a redevelopment of the playing grounds approved by the local council in 2024.

But residents claimed they were blindsided and unaware of any plans to remove the trees.

A petition signed by almost 600 electors triggered a special council meeting on September 15, where they called on the council to pause the removal of the trees, and also consider their tree retention policy as a whole.

Those motions were put forward to elected officials on Tuesday night, where city officers recommended the council request a review of their tree policy and the current community notification and engagement practices associated with proposals involving significant tree removals or canopy impacts.

The tree policy report must return to council within 12 months.

But ultimately, the advice from officers was to move ahead with the Hilton Park redevelopment as planned.

“In this case, I believe the master plan that was endorsed in October 2024 is the best outcome for this site,” councillor Fedele Camadra said.

“I feel that this process has been a thorough one. Our sporting facilities in Fremantle are crying out for upgrades. They have been for many years. There hasn’t been a lot of money spent.

“I believe that supporting the officer’s recommendation is the right decision because in time, I honestly believe it delivers on the concerns of both sides of this argument.”

A topic often raised by councillors on the night was the “abuse” they endured during the process from residents unhappy with the tree removal plans.

“I’ve been abused quite a lot over the last few weeks, and that’s never good in a community,” Hamilton said.

“I’ve been called a hypocrite because I’m not supporting every single tree, and that’s not a fair statement to make. Because I have chopped trees down … but I don’t like doing it, and I will only do it when it’s absolutely necessary because of the decisions that we have to make.”

Councillor Jemima Williamson-Wong said she also saw a lot of unpleasant public commentary.

“It has also been disappointing to see disrespectful commentary online throughout this process and directed at many different members of our community, not just elected members,” she said.

Even Mayor Ben Lawver called out the use of social media around the topic.

“Some of the comments online, usually from anonymous or clearly fake profiles, have often been absent of facts, clearly designed to mislead our community and/or personally attack people, not just elected members,” he said.

“Some of those fake profiles even spent hundreds of dollars on social media advertising that furthered their bizarre, misleading narrative. So my apologies for anyone who has been sucked into those false realities.

The council voted unanimously to support the continuation of the redevelopment and also award the contract for the delivery of the Hilton Park North design and construction to Phase 3 Landscape Construction.

“I will just say that I know people are going to be disappointed tonight, but I really hope that people can see that we gave everyone a good opportunity, and that we have listened, and that now we need to let the contractors do their job,” Sullivan said.