Andrew Forrest’s landmark overhaul plan is not everyone’s cup of tea

The battle over Andrew Forrest’s plans for a major overhaul of one of WA’s most recognisable landmarks looks set to drag on.

Artist’s impression of a refurbished Indiana Tea House.

The battle over Andrew Forrest’s plans for a major overhaul of one of Western Australia’s most recognisable landmarks looks set to drag on, with the town of Cottesloe set to reject a community-led motion that threatened to block the project.

Councillors will meet on Tuesday to consider a resolution calling for them to enforce a policy that would prevent Mr Forrest’s private company from building new structures on the beach side of Cottesloe’s main coastal thoroughfare.

Mr Forrest took over the lease of the beachfront Indiana Tea House in 2019, and has since proposed a major overhaul of the widely recognisable but increasingly decrepit landmark and the addition of a three-storey boutique hotel on grass terraces behind the building.

The project has angered the Cottesloe Resident and Ratepayers Association, which in February called a special meeting of electors that culminated in a resolution calling for the council to effectively block the hotel plans.

A council agenda prepared ahead of Tuesday’s meeting notes that it is up to council to determine the interpretation of its policies and recommends rejection of the anti-hotel motion. “It would be premature to refuse the current proposal purely on a policy position, which has not been amended by council since its adoption in 2004, without having a better understanding on whether the proposal provides a net benefit (or not) to the Cottesloe community,” the agenda reads.

While the plans for the Tea House have proved divisive, Andrew Hagger – chief executive of Mr Forrest’s private investment company Tattarang – said he believed there was broad public support for the project that would emerge during the project’s ­approval process.

“With any iconic site there’s going to be voices not wanting progress. That is not only understood by us, it’s something we would anticipate,” he said “It’s important all the voices get heard. For us, we are looking forward to a day the proposal goes out to public consultation. That will allow all the voices to come through and allow the decisions to be made by the right people at the right time after taking the right advice.”

Cottesloe is notorious for the strong opposition of its residents to many proposed developments, but the demographics of the area – one of the wealthiest postcodes in Perth – have been changing in recent years amid an influx of young professional families returning to Perth from interstate or overseas during the pandemic.

Katy Mason moved to Cottesloe five years ago and was one of the few voices at the recent special meeting to speak in favour of the Forrest proposal.

She said she went to represent the other young families of Cottesloe who want to see the area improved, but was booed and intimidated at the meeting. “There’s a vocal minority that don’t want change. They’re quite happy to have their cup of tea at home in the morning, wander down for a swim at the beach, and then wander home again. They don’t want it to be busy and they don’t want things that will attract visitors from outside,” she said.

The Forrests have long lived in Cottesloe and own several properties across the suburb.

Mr Hagger said they were committed to seeing the project through. “I can’t see us wavering now. We are confident that when all is said and done, this project will be approved and move forward.”