FREMANTLE edged closer to establishing a new home base in Perth's southern suburbs after the City of Cockburn last night accepted a heads of agreement for the construction of a new facility.

The council voted in favour of accepting the heads of agreement for the multi-million dollar facility, though it is subject to a number of conditions.



The proposed plan would see construction starting in March 2014, with opening scheduled for early 2016.



If the Dockers’ move goes ahead as expected, the club would be housed at the Beeliar Drive facility - moving away from its Fremantle Oval base in the heart of the port city.



The City of Fremantle has made a pitch for a multi-million dollar redevelopment of Fremantle Oval.



Cockburn mayor Logan Howlett said last night's meeting left the city "well placed to be the FDFC’s preferred option".



"The HOA was a significant decision for the City that could pave the way for a new state-of-the-art integrated Aquatic and Recreation Community Facility for the region," he said.



"The amendments will now be presented to the FDFC for their consideration."



But Fremantle president Steve Harris said there were still a number of "high-level" issues that needed to be resolved before a decision was made.



"It is clear that the proposed development at Cockburn Central West has the potential to deliver a compelling case in terms of the scope, scale and nature of facilities that can be developed on this green field site," he said.



"There are also still matters to consider further with regard to tenure, access and finance, which will require continued discussion between the City of Cockburn and the club.



"Given that those matters were the subject of confidential deliberations at last night’s special council meeting it is not appropriate that the club comment further on those matters."

