South Perth Foreshore

The South Perth Foreshore (SPF) is an extensive area of public open space that occupies approximately 62 hectares of Swan River foreshore land. It stretches from the Narrows Bridge in the west to Ellam Street in the east, where it joins the Town of Victoria Park’s foreshore reserves, including McCallum Park.

With over four kilometres of north facing foreshore to the City of Perth, it is a significant central Perth Waters portion of the Swan Canning Riverpark.

As custodians of the foreshore, it is vital for the City to ensure this much loved reserve continues to be sustainably managed.

The South Perth Foreshore Strategy and Management Plan (SPF Plan) aims to balance the competing demands for use, development and management of this precious regional reserve with the need to conserve and enhance a functional healthy river and foreshore environment.

The City has engaged extensively with the community and stakeholders on the development of the SPF Plan to improve the amenity, access and sustainability of the reserve.

Objectives

Create opportunities for increased social activity: Provide diverse activities to support the City’s changing demographic
Develop and enhance existing parkland, flora and fauna: Protect and enhance vegetation, restore water quality and develop and maintain suitable habitats for fauna
Encourage healthy lifestyles: Provide diverse recreational opportunities, both passive and active. Encourage people to engage with nature and spend more time outdoors
Recognise and celebrate history and cultural heritage:Promote awareness and knowledge about site and cultural history through interpretation, place making and engagement initiatives
Foster and promote sustainability: Establish more sustainable water and energy practises, climate responsive planning and design and maintenance strategies
Improve accessibility and connectivity: Provide for access to an integrated, well serviced public and alternative transport system including an integrated pedestrian and cycle network. Provide clear wayfinding within and from outside the site. Provide access to everyone, including people with disabilities
Maintain vistas: Preserve vistas to the City and the Swan River
Governance: Ensure responsible business principles, budget allocation and best practice infrastructure asset management are applied.

Whole of foreshore strategies

The SPF Plan will assist with the coordination of future works and management of the foreshore, by strategically considering the foreshore as a whole. The four whole of foreshore strategies are:

Transport and Access

Create a highly accessible and connected public open space, with improved access, connectivity and legibility for all users to the foreshore environment; and
Identify transport considerations aimed to reduce car use and conflict between modes of transport; review current transport provisions; and investigate multi-modal transport options.

Infrastructure

Manage the operation, maintenance, renewal and upgrade of infrastructure assets in order to meet community needs in a sustainable, cost effective and holistic manner.

Activation

Increase activation and appeal of existing spaces through ideas that are trialled and assessed and long term place making opportunities realised through good design, appropriate management, community activation and partnering.

Culture, Environment and Heritage

Celebrate culture and heritage as a strong element of the foreshore’s identity; and
Develop an environment that responds to the requirements of climate change and water sensitive urban design practice and provides biodiversity.

Ten nodes

The SPF Plan also identifies ten nodes, each with distinctive characteristics, opportunities and management issues, and strategies for each. The Node Strategies have been listed in order of the priority ranking attributed to each node during the feedback period, from Node N1 Mends Street to Node 10, Ellam Street.

Find out more about the ten nodes and the strategy for each in the Nodes tab.

Project stages

Stage One: Conversations and ideas gathering

The revitalisation visioning began in late 2012 with meetings with various stakeholder groups, such as the Sir James Mitchell Park and Sustainability Community Advisory groups, State Government agencies (Swan River Trust), Aboriginal groups, local business, schools and youth, the Council, residents and the wider community. The City also received hundreds of suggestions and ideas from residents, businesses and visitors on ways to improve the foreshore.

Stage Two: Draft South Perth Foreshore 2013 and Beyond

Comments received during Stage One were reviewed and compiled to form the draft South Perth Foreshore 2013 and Beyond documents Part 01 and 02. This three-part document articulated a vision for the revitalisation of the South Perth foreshore, intended as a guiding document that captured the essence of the project in the form of high-level requirements, design constraints and gave an overview of the project framework.

Stage Three: To Council and out for comment

The draft South Perth Foreshore 2013 and Beyond Part 01 and Part 02 documents were endorsed by Council at the May 2013 meeting. The draft documents then were widely advertised for comment in July and August 2013 during the ‘My Foreshore Our Future’ feedback period. Over the two-month period, feedback was received from 978 residents, businesses and park users.

A Report on the survey findings was presented to Council in November 2013 and Council approved the development of a Strategy Document and Management Plan for the South Perth Foreshore.

Stage Four: Review process and final SPF Plan

Stage Four of the project was to develop the final South Perth Foreshore Strategy and Management Plan (the SPF Plan) from the earlier South Perth Foreshore 2013 and Beyond draft. Further stakeholder engagement was undertaken with Officers of the Swan River Trust, the State Heritage Office, the Sir James Mitchell Park Community Advisory Group, City staff and Elected Members.

The South Perth Foreshore Strategy and Management Plan (SPF Plan) May 2015 approved by Council in October 2014, and subsequently endorsed by the Swan River Trust.

Stage Five - Future planning and implementation

Following adoption of the final SPF Plan, the SPF Implementation Plan will be prepared based on the priorities identified in the SPF Plan and the above considerations. The Implementation Plan will form the basis for the City to progress more detailed planning based on specific Whole of Foreshore and Node strategies. The Node Strategies have been listed in order of the priority ranking attributed to each node during the feedback period, from Node N1 Mends Street to Node 10, Ellam Street.

Key steps being undertaken:

Detailed planning based on the SPF Plan and Implementation Plan
Budgeting and funding applications
Move forward with projects subject to planning and funding, including stakeholder engagement and communication as required.

It is important to understand that the revitalisation of the South Perth Foreshore will not be a rapid process. The SPF Plan will be used to provide clear direction for foreshore improvements for many years. The long-term Implementation Plan will guide this, and the City will keep residents and the wider community informed along the way.

Related documents

Survey Results in Full [ pdf - 1.3 MB ]

Survey Comments in Full [ pdf - 1.1 MB ]

The Node Strategies have been listed in order of the priority ranking attributed to each node during the feedback period, from Node N1 Mends Street to Node 10, Ellam Street.

The Mends Street node of the foreshore, located between Mends Street and Mends Street Jetty in South Perth, is a major arrival point for many visitors to South Perth. The Mends Street node links the ferry terminal to Mends Street, Perth Zoo and beyond. The Mends Street precinct is a major commercial centre for South Perth.

The South Perth Promenade and Mends Street River Wall was officially opened by Hon. Albert Jacob MLA, Minister for Environment; Heritage on Thursday 21 April 2016.

The Mends Street Piazza has been developed as a 'gateway' for the Mends Street Precinct by connecting the recently constructed promenade with an active piazza. The project has grown from the South Perth Foreshore Strategy and Management Plan, which identified Node 1 Mends Street as a key area to redevelop, into the Connect South project, a $7.5 million major project to enhance and invigorate the Mends Street Precinct and foreshore area.

Construction for Stage 1 of the Connect South project was completed in late 2019 and the area formally named Mindeerup.

The Coode Street area of the South Perth Foreshore is a popular family destination with its wide-open green space, playground, café and riverside beach.

The vision for this area as outlined in the South Perth Foreshore Strategy and Management Plan is to develop a better serviced family recreational space with improved facilities, a choice of food and beverage outlets, and a diversity of activities including an all ages and abilities playground, rowing, sailing, boat mooring, and water play.

Extensive stakeholder and community engagement was conducted in early 2022 to validate, update and further explore the vision. To find out more and view the outcomes of the engagement visit Your Say South Perth.

The Mill Point node will be developed as a cultural and heritage hub, with improvements to the beach, pedestrian and cycle routes and the ecology and amenities of Millers Pool.

The plan for Node 5 incorporates three stages. Refer to the Node 5 Mill Point Concept Plans.

Stage 1 - Millers Pool

Works at Millers Pool were completed in December 2016 and included picnic and seating areas, a boardwalk and small viewing jetty and planting of native vegetation and trees. The view towards the Old Mill has also been opened up, highlighted by an avenue of trees.

A path network connects Millers Pool with the Foreshore Walk from the Esplanade to the east, to join with the paths and picnic areas west of the Narrows Bridge.

Stage 2 - the Cafe

As part of Stage 2, the City invited interested parties to submit a proposal to sub-lease an area of Node 5 to deliver a cafe or restaurant facility.

In September 2020, the City gave public notice of the proposed disposal of 791m2 of land at Millers Pool being a portion of land to be excised from Crown Reserve 33804. The disposal is by way of lease to the U & H Tinelli Family Trust for the café.

The proposed Cafe would complement the recent improvements to Millers Pool and provide a casual/informal dining option to visitors to the area.

The development of the Millers Pool Cafe is a key element to achieving greater visitation and activation in the area.

Stage 3, the remainder of the western side of Mill Point Rd around the Old Mill remain future projects for the Mill Point node of the foreshore.

Develop The Lakes node as:

A water-based, ecologically focused precinct, restored, expanded and integrated into its surroundings;
Providing a retreat for bird watching/breeding, ecology and learning; with volunteers involved in ecological restoration programs; and
Develop the location for the establishment of a swan breeding habitat; with interpretive centre and café; and provide for family recreation with picnic facilities and play areas including a nature play space.

Develop the Flag Pole node as:

A landmark site, representing national, state, local and Aboriginal significance, that expresses the historical background of the area; and
A landmark event space for calendar civic and social events that provides recreational facilities throughout the year.

Concept plans for the Westralian Centre have been developed and consultation is underway to deliver on the the vision for this node..