The City of Fremantle is calling for representatives of the local business community to join a working group tasked with ensuring Kings Square becomes the beating heart of Fremantle.
The Kings Square Place Development Working Group has been created to provide a way for the City to engage with key stakeholders on the approach to establishing Kings Square as a major attractor and catalyst for the revitalisation of Fremantle’s city centre over the next 12-18 months.
Working group chair Councillor Hannah Fitzhardinge said with the new Walyalup Civic Centre nearing completion it was time to think about how to make the most of a transformed Kings Square.
“Fremantle is coming back to life, and we want to find compelling ways to get people from all over Perth and beyond to come and take a look at the new Freo,” Cr Fitzhardinge said.
“The $270 million Kings Square Renewal Project is the largest public-private infrastructure project in the city’s history, and it’s central to our plan to attract more people to live, work and play in central Fremantle.
“The fact that we’ll have around 2000 people working in Kings Square, along with Sirona Capital’s FOMO concept and great new public facilities like our new library and play space, will naturally make Kings Square a livelier and more vibrant place.
“We want to add to that by planning special events and promotions to really put Kings Square on the map, showcase how Fremantle has changed and make sure local people get every opportunity to enjoy the different elements the square has to offer.
“The biggest beneficiaries of attracting more people to Fremantle are going to be our local businesses, so it’s really important to have the business community represented on the working group to provide advice on the best ways to capitalise on this great new space in the heart of Fremantle.”
The Kings Square Place Development Working Group will include representatives from five of Fremantle’s key business sectors:
- Hospitality
- Retail
- Professional Services
- Indigenous Business
- Arts and Culture
It will also include three elected members from the City of Fremantle and representatives from the Fremantle Chamber of Commerce, Sirona Capital, St. John’s Anglican Church, the Department of Communities and the City’s Destination Marketing Working Group.
The group will provide recommendations to the council on short to medium term priorities and approaches to activating the square, the delivery of marketing and communications strategies, engagement with surrounding businesses and fostering community ownership of the space.
It will also host a series of quarterly forums to update the local business community on the opportunities to get involved in activation activities.
The group will meet a minimum of four times a year, although meetings will be more frequent in the early stages.
People interested in joining the group can download an Expression of Interest form here.
