The City of Fremantle has recorded another strong year for building approvals, with more than $231 million worth of projects approved for construction in 2018-19.

The latest figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics follow the record $313 million worth of building approvals in 2017-18, and means the value of buildings approved for construction in Fremantle has topped $200 million in four of the past five years.

Fremantle Mayor Brad Pettitt said the strong building approval figures pointed to a bright future for Fremantle and the local economy.

“These numbers from the ABS show that Fremantle has recorded of building approvals worth $1.2 billion in the past five years,” Mayor Pettitt said.

“After the City of Perth, Fremantle has the highest amount of building approvals per capita in the metropolitan area.

“Even more impressive is that Fremantle is going against the state wide trend, which has seen building approvals more than halve since 2014 according to the WA Treasury.

“Our continued strong performance in building approvals is clear evidence that Fremantle is seen as an attractive place to invest and the City’s plans to get more people living and working in Fremantle are working.”

The value of residential building approvals in Fremantle has grown steadily over the past three years from $88.5 million to $107 million.

Fremantle also recorded $124 million worth of non-residential building approvals in 2018-19, following on from a record $218.5 million the previous year.

Obtaining building approval is the last major stage of the property development process before construction commences.

More than $600 million of Fremantle’s $1.3 billion development pipeline is either recently completed or under construction.

Commercial projects currently under construction in Fremantle include mixed office, retail and hospitality developments at Kings Square and the Manning Buildings, and the transformation of the Old Synagogue into four new hospitality venues.

Residential projects under construction include The Social on Henry Street in the West End, South240 in South Fremantle and Compass at Leighton Beach.