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Rec centre plans put on hold

Bryce Luff, Cockburn GazetteFremantle Gazette

The move comes amid speculation the government-elect could scrap a $10 million dollar pledge made to the project by Labor earlier this year.

But it wasn’t a funding commitment that stopped the council from committing, rather a section of wetland that was set to be filled in to accommodate a road running east to west through the 32.5ha site.

Three deputations were made to council last Thursday, with two against any possible infilling. The third was by LandCorp, which suggested that retaining the wetland could compromise the City’s ability to get everything it wanted out of the space.

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A spokesman for the Wildflower Society of WA said the wetland had to be saved and even suggested a road running north to south to avoid impacting it.

‘The plans should be accommodated to fit in with the wetlands, not the other way around,’ he said.

‘We need to be holistically responsible and that means retaining the wetland.’

Despite Council’s keenness for the project, it might now have a problem gathering the necessary funds after Nationals leader Warren Truss announced the Coalition would only be honouring Labor’s Regional Development Australia Fund commitments that had been signed and sealed.

That could mean a $10 million deficit that would need to be made up by the City on top of its current commitment of $65 million.

‘The Coalition will assess each of the projects announced by Labor on a case-by-case basis to determine if they should be funded by the Coalition,’ a spokesman for Mr Truss said.