Preserve Gnarabup invoke ghosts of Gnarabup Beach Estate to fight for firefighting capacity at Prevelly

The group protesting a planned resort and de facto village development at Gnarabup says the latest news of the State’s peak bushfire authority shutting the single-appliance firefighting shed just a stone’s throw from the resort site goes against a past, albeit lapsed approval condition. Preserve Gnarabup spokeswoman Beth Carlessi said the historic approval for Gnarabup Beach Estate – which was discontinued after the project fell in a heap amid legal challenges from the Shire of Augusta-Margaret River – specifically required nearby firefighting capacity in the event of a major disaster. The group, which sounded the alarm about the Wallcliffe Volunteer Bushfire Brigade’s Prevelly shed closure earlier this month, said the decision to leave the coastal headland without a fast response in case of bushfire made no sense when the Department of Fire and Emergency Services also refused to support the Luke Saraceni-led revival because of bushfire concerns. “DFES has acknowledged the high fire risk to people living at Gnarabup by refusing to support the proposed new development … which will bring an extra 1000-plus people into the area,” she said. “In 1999, when the WA Planning Commission approved the Gnarabup Estate that exists now, it set as a requirement that the developer give up land for a firefighting facility to be built to service the Gnarabup area. “The fire risk at Gnarabup has not reduced since 1999. Arguably fire risk has increased due to our drying environment.” The Shire and WAPC said the full detail of the 1999 approval was only available under the Freedom of Information Act. A DFES spokesperson told the Times consideration of lapsed historic planning recommendations was not something the agency could consider. DFES also declined to roll back the recent contentious shed-closure decision despite major concerns among coastal residents that a lone cigarette butt on a windy day would now require a brigade rollout from Wallcliffe’s base 10 minutes away. In years past, volunteers living in Prevelly could attend reports within minutes, using the shed based near The Common. Despite talk of a meeting between DFES and the Shire to discuss adequate protection for coastal residents, chief executive Stephanie Addison-Brown this week said the agency advised its capacity was not compromised. “DFES assessed their requirements during the transition process and advised the Shire they do not require the shed to maintain coverage,” she said. DFES declined to comment on the apparent disconnect between its refusal to support the Westin Margaret River Resort & Spa project because of fire risks and its shed closure. Instead, a spokesperson told the Times it was an operational matter as part of Wallcliffe’s transition to DFES administration earlier this month. “DFES conducted a review of the brigade’s assets and facilities,” they said. “The review found that a shed in Gnarabup, used by the brigade to house a single light tanker firefighting vehicle, did not have the necessary infrastructure to support operational requirements.” The tanker was moved to the main base, 5km from the shed, along with the remaining five appliances.