Australian Walking Company’s contentious Kangaroo Island accommodation plans pass last major sign-off
A contentious luxury accommodation project on Kangaroo Island is set to go ahead, after winning approval from the state’s Native Vegetation Council.
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A contentious luxury accommodation project on Kangaroo Island has passed another major hurdle, winning approval from the state’s Native Vegetation Council.
The State Government will today announce the Australian Walking Company has received the last major sign-off for its new “lodges” in Flinders Chase National Park, featuring about 20 buildings.
However, the project is likely to face a legal challenge from groups which have been staunchly opposed to the development since plans were flagged in November.
Friends of Parks groups and other environmental campaigners have raised a series of concerns, mostly centring on the project’s potential to impact on vulnerable flora and fauna.
They have raised almost $40,000 towards a potential legal challenge against the project, planned for Sandy Creek, Sanderson Bay and Cape du Couedic.
Australian Walking Company general manager Heath Garratt said the company’s four-day guided walks along the Kangaroo Island Wilderness Trail would provide the equivalent of 30 full-time jobs.
There will be guide training opportunities for local residents to become environmental educators and interpreters.
The company said it could not provide a time frame on when works would begin, or how long construction would take.
Mr Garratt said the company conducted more than 20 “voluntary” public and private consultations, working with experts, including ecologists, to refine the project’s design and reduce its environmental impact.
“We take our environmental stewardship responsibilities seriously and know we will deliver a world-class outcome for the park and South Australia,” he said.
“We have minimised the overall impact on the park by choosing to build on only two of the four sites available under the park management plan and reducing the overall tracks and trails required to access these sites by 45 per cent.”
Mr Garratt said the new accommodation would take up less than half of the footprint of existing campsites, with 14 walkers sheltered in compact sleeping pods.
Australian Walking Company already operates high-end walking tours in Tasmania and Victoria, charging almost $4000 for a six-day Cradle Mountain experience.
The company plans to spend $4 million on the development, including the new lodges at Sanderson Bay and Sandy Creek, and refurbishment works to the Cape Du Couedic lighthouse keepers’ cottages, which would also be used by walkers.
The plans have attracted harsh criticism from locals, who are concerned the development will threaten vulnerable species, such as sea eagles, ospreys, hooded plovers and the Kangaroo Island dunnart.
The Sandy Creek accommodation will be 1.2km from the walking trail, requiring vegetation clearance for new pathways and roads.
Acting Environment Minister Stephan Knoll welcomed the vegetation council’s decision, saying the project would deliver “multiple benefits to the Kangaroo Island and South Australian economy”.
“The AWC’s proposed Kangaroo Island Lodge Walk will further raise the profile of South Australia as a major international eco-tourism destination,” Mr Knoll said.
Australian Walking Company applied to set up in the national park after the Government called for expressions of interest to develop accommodation and services for the wilderness trail, which opened in 2016.
It has given the company a $833,000 grant for the project.
The State Commission Assessment Panel approved the plan last month.
Islanders were yet to be informed about the project’s latest approval, from the vegetation council, before The Advertiser’s deadline.
michelle.etheridge@news.com.au