Shire of Augusta-Margaret River council draws line in sand on Luke Saraceni’s Gnarabup resort

Shire of Augusta-Margaret River councillors have voted against the proposed Westin Margaret River Resort & Spa and its associated village development. Councillors at Wednesday night’s meeting debated a recommendation from shire planners which said they couldn’t take a position on the proposal because some of its key areas lacked information. While conservative councillors Ian Earl and Kylie Kennaugh supported that position, along with first-termer Brian Daniel, a council majority said the shire had to take a clear position to represent community concerns about the project. An alternative recommendation from deputy shire president Julia Meldrum proposed the shire “firmly oppose” the Luke Saraceni-led development, which will face the WA Planning Commission’s State Development Assessment Unit for the final decision. A minor amendment later in the meeting softened the call, saying the council did not support the resort and village “in its current form”. Another amendment from Cr David Binks, echoing an earlier lapsed amendment from Cr Daniel, also asked the WAPC to pass the item back to the shire for reconsideration if and when the key issues were addressed. As forecast by the Times earlier this month, bushfire safety, height limits, a second access road to the coast and questions around wastewater treatment and capacity were all key concerns. “It’s a highly-contentious development within our community,” Cr Meldrum said, adding it was “essential to put up a clear indication” of the shire’s position to the SDAU. She also cited local housing stress as a factor, asking where construction workers and future resort staff would live. “It is going to exacerbate the pressure on the already-pressurised building industry,” she said. Cr Tracey Muir supported the stronger stance because it was “really important there’s no ambiguity”. “It’s vital that we do actually take a stand and say we do not support it,” she said. Cr Muir argued “lives could be at risk” if international guests found themselves in the middle of a bushfire without adequate safety precautions. Crs Earl, Kennaugh and Daniel accepted the alternative motion with its amendment while cautioning about perceptions the whole community was against the project. Cr Earl warned about the council playing politics, noting various owners had paid rates and taxes on the resort holdings for 30 years and there was an expectation the key tourism site would be developed. Cr Daniel said 1847 of 2057 Preserve Gnarabup-inspired submissions against the project weren’t an indicator of community-wide opposition given the region’s population and number of outside submissions. “What that’s telling me is either 92 per cent of the community support the resort or they don’t have a point on it,” he said. Cr Kennaugh said the council should “leave the gate open” for further negotiations to bring the project in line with local planning expectations.