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Cottesloe Beach is set for a multimillion-dollar revamp to help boost the revitalisation of the much-loved foreshore.
The $15 million project will be jointly funded by the federal government and the Town of Cottesloe – $10 million from the government and $5 million from the local council – and will see more public spaces created as part of the Cottesloe Beach Foreshore Revitalisation Project.
Town of Cottesloe mayor Melissa Harkins said she was thrilled the works were finally going to come to fruition after years of longing for funding.
“I’m very excited that Cottesloe has been successful in attaining this funding. It’s an iconic coastal location; however, it is crumbling and falling apart, and we’re a very small local government, and we just can’t afford to do this fabulous project on our own,” she said.
“We do need federal government funding. We are funding part of it from the Town of Cottesloe, and we are also asking for state funding to complete the project.”
Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister Patrick Gorman said the funding had been provided under the Albanese Government’s urban precincts and partnerships program.
“Councils can put forward projects, they get independently assessed, and then we can find opportunities to invest in community infrastructure,” Gorman said.
“This is not just something for the residents of Cottesloe and surrounds. This is something for all of Perth, and indeed all of Western Australia.
Stage one will focus on more public spaces, including turning carpark one into a piazza for community events.
It will also improve accessibility by widening footpaths from Marine Parade Road to the beach.
“There will be additional trees planted, so it will green up the area, and it will enable local families, interstate families, and of course overseas guests to our town to enjoy this fabulous environment,” Harkins said.
“To sit there having a picnic on the grass, looking at the sunset over the Indian Ocean is priceless, and we’re just thrilled that we’ll now have the infrastructure to match what is such a fabulous natural location.”
The complete project will be delivered in two stages, with phase one already funded. Harkins said she hopes the state government will help to fund phase two which would see carpark two redesigned and footpaths enhanced.
“The whole project is just over $30 million … ideally we would like another $15 million, but we will discuss that with the state government,” she said.
“Carpark two is that hero piece, so [we’re] looking at what we can do there, some short stay accommodations and retail restaurants, those sorts of things, so that you’ve got a linking [between] North Cottesloe and South Cottesloe.”
Harkins said while works are being undertaken at carpark one, she encourages visitors to park in carpark two – a place that she says almost always has a parking spot available.
“We have sensors in car park two, and it is very rare that carpark two is full. There’s three weekends a year during Sculptures by the Sea, [when] absolutely, it’s difficult to find a par., But I came down on Christmas Day, and you can get a car park in car park number two,” she said.
“People sometimes don’t know it’s there, and they’ll come in, do the lap of car park number one, see there’s no parking, and then go to carpark two.
“So we would encourage them, just go straight to carpark two. I do that if ever I have to drive down here.”
Harkins said that while “you can never build enough carparks” the Town is trying to attract active transport so that people walk or bike to the beach.
Member for Curtin, Kate Chaney said she was most pleased that the government funding was not a “pre-election pork-barrelling promise.”
“This was actually through a merits-based assessment and a grants program, that means that this project stacks up against projects all over the country, and this is how federal government money should actually be allocated – on the merits,” Chaney said.
“Here in WA, we are lucky to have this incredible iconic tourist attraction, and I’m really pleased to see the federal government getting behind this, so that Cottesloe can continue being a thriving, safe, and accessible hub for locals and tourists alike.”
Harkins said works would commence on the project “as soon as possible” but she didn’t have an answer for when they would be completed.
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