Lord Mayor Basil Zempilas said Perth’s riverfront was underutilised and its potential as a tourist destination has not been fully realised, despite the development of over 200 masterplans for the area since 1883.
 
“This Masterplan is timely given the planning currently underway for the new Aboriginal Cultural Centre and improvements at Supreme Court Gardens, along with investigations into the potential redevelopment of the Tattersalls site at the eastern end of the project area,” he said.
 
“This vision will dramatically increase the liveability of the area and attract visitors and tourists and enable the city riverfront to become a destination attraction with a lagoon, cafes and restaurants, a public mooring and ferry jetty, a river walk and ecological precinct.
 
“A cornerstone of this vision will be 3000 new trees making a significant boost to the biodiversity of the area.
 
“The time to push this vision forward is now and plan our riverfront and make it the envy of other cities around the world.  We have a beautiful river on our doorstep – a magnificent asset – which has never been fully showcased.
 
“We will shortly begin an extensive consultation period with the community and relevant stakeholders and look to create an opportunity for the Commonwealth and State Governments to work with us on this once-in-a-hundred-year project.”
 
The Riverfront Masterplan features a reimagined river edge and a re-aligned Riverside Drive, converting the river foreshore to a destination attraction, and improving connectivity to the City. 
 
The Riverfront Masterplan area is comprised of Langley Park and two foreshore areas, between Terrace Road and the river. It is a 44-hectare site, which extends for 2.2 kilometres along the river between Supreme Court Gardens and the Causeway.
 
The overall space has been imagined in five distinct precincts – Cultural, Play, Leisure, Event and Ecology.
 
Further information is available here.

ENDS

Issued by: media@cityofperth.wa.gov.au