A former caravan park site in northern Perth that has been vacant for 10 years is to get a new lease on life after plans for a glamping resort were approved.
The proposal for 39 glamping tents and a restaurant on the site at Quinns Road, Mindarie, 37km north of the Perth CBD, have been approved by the WA Statutory Planning Committee.
The Dunes Beach Resort plans by Eco Tourism Pty Ltd went on exhibition this year with the Western Australian Planning Commission.
The project in the coastal suburb would employ 40 staff with the main building to operate as an event space for up to 400 people, the DA report said.
“The Dunes Beach Resort will contribute to a sense of place for residents and visitors,” it said.
The site was formerly the Quinns Rocks Caravan Park, which closed in 2012 and “left in a poor environmental condition”. It had been used as an overflow carpark since that time.
During that period the City of Wanneroo has been exploring options and sought community feedback, leading in 2023 to the endorsement of a business plan for the redevelopment of the site as an eco-retreat.
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The council agreed to proceed with the plans for the ecotourism, restaurant and event space, negotiating the lease for the development to include 1500sq m of open space and an accessible cafe.
However, the project was strenuously opposed in a presentation to the Statutory Planning Committee last week that criticised the removal of what has been used as an overflow carpark for the nearby beach, as well as the limitations it would place on the ability of the nearby Quinns Mindarie Surf Life Saving Club to expand, and the existence of a pair of ospreys at the site.
The committee was not convinced by these arguments, and agreed to approve the development.
In the year to March 2024, 11 million domestic and international visitors came to or travelled within WA, according to Tourism WA.
A full recovery for international visitation to the state post-Covid is expected by 2025, according to Tourism Research Australia.
