Denmark luxury retreat makes headway

Prominent businessman Steve Birkbeck’s plan to build an eco-retreat and luxury spa neighbouring his farm-to-plate restaurant has been backed by the Shire of Denmark officer.

Denmark’s shire officer has recommended councillors support the entrepreneur’s proposal to rezone an almost 40-hectare lot of rural land for tourism purposes ahead of next week’s council meeting.

A tourism accommodation hub comprising of six chalets, six eco huts, a lodge and a luxury day spa valued at a conservative $5 million has been floated to be built on the extensive lot.  

The proposed luxury day spa would also offer medical cannabis treatment options, which is legal in Australia, with the aim to attract regular visitors alongside high-profile celebrities and athletes.

If the Shire of Denmark councillors vote in favor of the officer’s recommendation to support the rezoning, the proposal would go to Planning Minister John Carey for approval.

Mr Birkbeck told Business News the proposed project was shovel ready and that he hoped to receive the minister’s approval for rezoning by the end of the year.

He said the shire officer’s rezoning support was a significant moment within the process.

“Hopefully by Christmas or just after we get the green light and then we can start the process, which will be a long, slow, steady process but we’ll start to do a few things initially as a result of this next year,” he said.

“We’ll get our finances lined up, we’ll get our designs completed and then we’ve got to select and prioritise the four or five different directions we could take, so we’re still workshopping that with my children.

“The day spa will not be done first; the accommodation will be done first and the day spa will be second to that because we operate the two spas (The Temple and Little Temple) in Albany and Denmark.”

The proposed eco retreat would be situated on the Birkbeck family-owned Raintree Farm, which is home to the family’s The Dam restaurant, which opened in 2021.

The 880-hectare farm is also home to the family’s agribusiness and distilling venture Cannabis Botanical Distillery, which uses commercially grown hemp to distil spirits for the restaurant.

It’s a part of the Birkbeck family’s larger vision that’s more than 25 years in the making to create an all-encompassing tourism hub on their farm, which has spanning views of the south coast.

Albany-based CBD Architect’s lead designer Roberto Forgione has drawn on Scandinavian-inspired architecture for his early-stage concept designs of the proposed retreat.

It comes after the proposal to rezone the land, and the general eco retreat development plans, received a groundswell of support from the Denmark community during public consultation.

The consultation process drew about 600 submissions, all of which were in support but one.

Mr Birkbeck said his family’s commitment to the local community and assistance during the February 2022 bushfires placed them in good stead for gaining their support.

If the rezoning gets legs, Mr Birkbeck said he also hoped to take advantage of the farm’s proximity to the coast by proposing to construct 8 kilometres of biking trails on his property.

He said the trails would connect the restaurant and accommodation hub to Greens Pool, allowing visitors to utilise a fleet of electric bikes instead of driving their cars.