Saracen Properties’ $118 million luxury resort proposal in Gnarabup has received federal environmental approval.
Saracen Properties’ $118 million luxury resort proposal in Gnarabup has received federal environmental approval.
The Australian Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) recently greenlit the developer’s application to develop a resort and tourism village in the South West.
Saracen’s proposal comprises a 121-room resort, residential dwellings and commercial premises at 783 Mitchell Drive.
A resort on site is expected to be operated by Marriott International’s Westin Group.
The approval will be in effect until May 2035 and is subject to conditions under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.
One of the conditions was a limit of 7.4 hectares of native vegetation clearing in the action area.
Other conditions include no clearing or construction work outside of daylight hours, and for Saracen to ensure clearing occurs in a single direction in a slow progressive manner to ensure protected matters would not be trapped.
The approval holder must also ensure that a suitably qualified field ecologist identifies threatened mammals in the action area no later than 24 hours before the commencement of the action and to cease all clearing in the area where any threatened mammal individual is identified.
The $118 million proposal has attracted significant community interest for many years, with environmental groups opposed to the planned clearing of the land.
Preserve Gnarabup campaign spokesperson Beth Carlessi said the EPBC Act assessment was focused on impact on threatened species and migratory birds but not on the wider environmental issues.
“While local people are devastated by this recommendation, DCCEEW has applied some limiting conditions on the development to protect threatened species such as Western Ringtail Possums, Sanderlings and migratory birds, and some onerous administrative compliance conditions,” she said in a statement.
“This is only one more step in the assessment of a range of approvals required for the development.
“People have opposed the development of this site for 33 years and it's not over.”
Saracen Properties submitted the proposal with the state government’s Significant Development Assessment Unit.
The proposal was recently assessed y the state’s Environmental Protection Authority, which backs an approval of the plan subject to strict conditions including height limits.
In his decision, EPA chair Darren Walsh said the EPA recognised the significant public interest in the project.
He acknowledged, in his decision, 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,” Mr Walsh said late last month.
“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.”
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 for the Gnarabup proposal.
The EPA found key issues raised included insufficient consultation with Traditional Owners, insufficient mitigation of visual amenity impacts, inadequate survey effort for flora and fauna, and lack of general investigation.
The state’s environmental watchdog started a public review on the proposal in late 2021, approving the developer’s scoping document and public review document in early 2023.
In 2022, the SDAU received 2,057 submissions over the project during a consultation period with 1,849 responses being against the Gnarabup proposal.
