Cottesloe takes another crack at a plan to revamp the beachfront

COTTESLOE Mayor Phil Angers says his council’s latest stab at a master plan for the town’s foreshore is not directly linked to mining magnate Andrew Forrest leasing the Indiana restaurant on the beach last month.

“That has nothing to do with our survey, but we do want people to consider what may happen at the Indiana so there is no duplication,” Mr Angers said.

The council previously did plans with consultants Cardno and Emerge, after its 2008 Inquiry by Design project, that led to a $12 million draft design in 2016.

Last year, it decided to potentially spend about $1m replacing the main 144-bay beach car park with turf, basketball and picnic areas, but there was division as to which would be built.

Temporary repairs to the car park’s decaying tarmac subsequently cost about $50,000 because total resurfacing would have been about $400,000.

Mr Angers said its was not certain if the car park would become grass and the council now wanted to “drill down” into which choices were wanted.

The rejigged master plan would be conducted in two stages, first comprising uses for the car park and nearby grass terraces, and then the Napier Street, 355-bay car park 200m away and adjacent Marine Parade.

The plan could combine parts of the previous designs, from which all concepts have been collated, but they will only be made public after two stages are finished.

A nomination-only workshop is on June 8, followed by a public “open house” session to view those ideas which made it through.

However, Cottesloe Residents and Ratepayers Association president John Hammond said the community was unhappy with the drawn-out consultation to date, and “snippets” of change such as new beach shelters had not tackled proper landscaping of the beachfront.

Stage one comment can be made until April 18, and stage two until May 11, at ‘Have your say’ at cottesloe.wa.gov.au, and register at www.surveymonkey.com/r/CottWorkshop before May 17 to attend the workshop.