The controversial $118 million plan has been recommended for approval, subject to height limitations.
Saracen Properties’ $118 million plan to build a resort in Gnarabup has been cautiously supported by the environmental regulator, with strict conditions placed on the height of the proposal.
The Environmental Protection Authority has completed its assessment of the Gnarabup proposal, three and a half years on from when a public environmental review into the development started.
The proposal comprises an 121-room resort, residential dwellings and a commercial premises at 783 Mitchell Drive in Gnarabup.
Commenting on his decision, EPA Chair Darren Walsh said the EPA was cognisant of the significant public interest in the project and acknowledged that the proposed development would result in a change to the natural landscape and visual character of the area.
“However, limiting the design’s maximum height limit to seven metres within the proposed resort area and eight metres within the village area will facilitate an environmental outcome consistent with the EPA’s objectives,” he said.
“And the project layout has been designed to retain connectivity of fauna habitat around the site and maintain a buffer for the protection and preservation of a registered Aboriginal heritage site.”
The EPA considered “potential impacts to social surroundings, terrestrial fauna, flora and vegetation, inland waters, subterranean fauna, marine environmental quality, coastal processes, landforms, and greenhouse gas emissions”.
The proposed Gnarabup development.
Mr Walsh added that during its assessment, the EPA encouraged the developer to consult further with the local Karri Karrak Aboriginal Corporation.
“And the EPA report recommends conditions for further consultation with Traditional Owners and an ethnographic and archaeological site identification Aboriginal heritage survey to be undertaken prior to any disturbance,” he said.
He added that the EPA had also provided other advice in its report on matters raised during public consultation that were outside its statutory remit.
These included traffic congestion, bushfire safety, future wastewater management for the Prevelly Gnarabup region, and economic benefits.
Saracen Properties project director Joel Saraceni said the EPA recommendation was a significant milestone for the proposal.
"From the outset, we’ve carefully designed every element of the project to integrate sensitively within the local landscape, with strong consideration for the area’s environmental and heritage values," he said.
"We were always confident the project would stand up to scrutiny, and the EPA’s rigorous assessment and resulting conditions confirm the strength of the approach we’ve taken.
"This site has been identified and zoned for tourism accommodation for over 20 years, and our project, first announced by then-Premier Mark McGowan in 2020, has consistently been recognised as a key opportunity to help the State and region keep up with the area’s growing, and increasingly unmet, tourism demand.”
Opponents of the project have three weeks to appeal against the EPA’s recommendation to the environment minister, with the statutory process closing on June 18.
The Minister will make the final decision on the proposal, which also sits with the Western Australian Planning Commission’s Part 17 pathway.
Saracen's Gnarabup proposal has attracted significant community backlash and interest.
Commenting on the EPA's recommendation to approve, Preserve Gnarabup spokesperson Beth Carlessi said the community group intended to appeal the decision.
"It is disappointing that the EPA hasn't recommended the WA Environment Minister refuse this development which almost 2,700 local people and organisations objected to," she said.
"We are reviewing the EPA's recommended conditions on the development and considering an appeal to the Appeals Convenor."
In February, the EPA released a report and the applicant’s response to the 2,690 submissions received during a four-week public feedback period.
The EPA summarised the thousands of responses to 13 key issues including insufficient consultation with Traditional Owners, insufficient mitigation of visual amenity impacts, inadequate survey effort for flora and fauna, and lack of general investigation.
Other issues raised include inadequate geotechnical assessment, and an over-reliance on the Shire of Augusta Margaret River’s Prevelly Gnarabup Foreshore Management Plan.
The EPA started a public environmental review on the proposal in late 2021.
By early 2023, the EPA approved the developer’s scoping document and public review document.
The state government's Significant Development Assessment Unit, through the Part 17 pathway, received 2,057 submissions during a consultation period with 1,849 responses being against the Gnarabup proposal.
