Fini backs rigorous review of $280m Smiths Beach plan

Adrian Fini has doubled down on the merits of his contentious $280 million development at Smiths Beach amid community opposition, calling on the environmental regulator to conduct the most rigorous assessment possible.

The property magnate wants to clear 4.5 hectares of vegetation and modify 11ha to make way for a coastal village, featuring a 65-room hotel, 61 holiday homes, campgrounds, a wellness centre and a new surf club.

The development would span just less than half of the 40ha site along the Cape to Cape Track, which has been earmarked for development for more than two decades.

The plan has drawn the ire of sections of the community, who are concerned about the proposal’s impact on the ecologically sensitive hedland.

More than half of the vegetation set to be cleared or modified is home to or used by several threatened species, with selective tree retention and the revegetation of degraded areas designed to minimise the impact.

As such, it has been lodged for both state and federal environmental approval and was released for public consultation by the Environmental Protection Authority last week.

The project team has insisted the plan is a far more sensitive option than the 536-dwelling residential subdivision approved previously, with better dispersed housing and the preservation of 18.5ha within the Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park.

In a statement released this morning, the Smiths Beach Project team reaffirmed its support for a vigorous review, revealing it had lodged its own submission supporting a Public Environmental Review of the plan.

A PER is the highest level of assessment undertaken by the EPA.

In it, the team said it recognised the need for a rigorous, timely and coordinated assessment process which allowed for public input.

“The project team is confident that its landscape led design represents a significant environmental improvement on the previous proposal which received environmental approval by EPA in 2009,” the statement read.

“The significantly lower density and more dispersed development approach, compared to previous proposals, increases the ability to retain existing vegetation and canopies thereby retaining larger areas of fauna habitat and minimising overall visual impact.”

Business News understands the next public consultation for the proposal will be held by the State Development Assessment Unit, which will run for more than a month.

Approvals permitting, construction is expected to begin early next year and take place over a 2.5-year period.