The saga surrounding the proposed development of a caravan park on a 10-hectare bushland site at Lancelin in WA is over … it won’t be built.
Planning Minister John Day has rejected the shire’s rezoning application saying the area was ‘unsuitable for use as a caravan park due to its nationally significant ecological features’. It brings down the curtain on a planning soap opera that has dragged on for years
While most residents agreed with a 2012 report which identified the town as one of the state’s top three places most urgently needing a new park, there were always concerns about the location on fragile sand dunes that had been selected.
A group of people already worried about the ongoing erosion of the foreshore commissioned a second environmental assessment, which found the site was home to an endangered plant species protected by federal law.
With the initial caravan park proposal now dead, the Department of Planning, Tourism WA and the Shire of Gingin will now work in consultation with the community to identify alternative sites in Lancelin.
According to a report in WA Today, it was also only realised a few months ago that an existing caravan park right next door to the new site, at present taken up by long-term stayers, was about to become available for redevelopment – a far less environmentally destructive solution.
WA Today reports that, despite their opposition, Lancelin residents and Shire of Gingin management have long stressed the need for a new caravan park. The town is increasingly reliant on the tourist dollar but is forced to regularly turn away tourists looking for short-stay accommodation.
• Have you been forced to drive on past Lancelin due to a lack of places for you to stay? Where else do you think is in desperate need of a new caravan park or camping ground? Comment below.
