Shire of Augusta-Margaret River council gives nod to Heytesbury’s Margaret River Hotel project

Plans for the $10 million-plus redevelopment of the Margaret River Hotel have sailed through the Shire council with a tick of approval. The major project looks set to short-change the town centre about 30 parking bays as part of a major reworking of the site that includes a two-storey addition and removing tacky 1980s revitalisation efforts. Some of those lost bays would be offset by an active transport plan involving 24 bicycle stations for workers and visitors and some of the historic bays no longer met today’s standards, last week’s Shire council meeting was told. The State Government’s Joint Development Approval Panel will have the final say on the Paul Homes a Court-led venture, which has no start or finish date yet due to WA’s turbulent and inflated construction sector. Cr Ian Earl said the project, once finished, would be a “fantastic” venture for the town centre. Shire sustainable development and infrastructure director Nick Logan previously noted the existing hotel would also not meet today’s parking standards. The Shire assessed 64 bays in total were needed, but only 33 were included in the redevelopment plans. A spokesperson for the Heytesbury Group said a “very thorough” parking analysis was contained in the development application’s transport impact report provided by consultants Transcore.