Amendment sought for Cambria Green refused by Tasmanian Planning Commission
The Cambria Green development has been in limbo for five years, and now it’s hit a glaring red light. Latest.
Tasmania
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Developers hoping to build a mega-resort on Tasmania’s East Coast have been unable to overcome a major hurdle preventing the build from going ahead.
The Cambria Green proposal would stretch across more than 3000 hectares at Dolphin Sands, near Swansea, and it‘s something community members have been fighting against for five years.
The plan was revealed in 2018 and the $138m proposal included is a 100-120 room luxury hotel, 200 villas, an 80-unit health retreat, wedding and function facilities, an 18 and 9-hole golf courses, an upgraded airstrip, plus retirement facilities with a crematorium.
The project was put forward by Melbourne group Cambria Green Agriculture and Tourism Management, which represents an international investor syndicate from China, Hong Kong, Australia and other countries.
The project was to be aimed at high-end tourists and use the airstrip to fly in guests, provide scenic flights and accommodate the Royal Flying Doctor Service.
The plan included 12 sites either side of the Tasman Highway as well as shack properties north of Nine Mile Beach. It was purchased by the investors in March 2015.
In order to push ahead with the plan, developers sought and amendment to rezone several lots at Cambria Estate and to apply a ‘specific area plan’.
Under the plan, the site would be separated into four precinct: the homestead precinct, golf and conservation, agriculture, and a resort precinct, which would be the largest precinct.
The plans also included the re-use of the 182-year-old heritage-listed Cambria homestead.
It’s been a lengthy process for the Cambria Green proponent. The development has been before the Glamorgan Spring Bay Council, the Supreme Court of Tasmania, and more recently it’s been before the Tasmanian Planning Commission for a second time.
In a decision handed down on October 6, the planning commission rejected the draft amendment, a decision welcomed by the East Coast Alliance.
“After such a long, drawn-out process, while we at the ECA are, of course, very pleased with this decision, we are also cautious about what might happen next,” President Anne Held said.
“We acknowledge this is possibly not the end of the road for this campaign.”
The proponent has the right to appeal the decision in the Supreme Court and has 28 days to do so.
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Originally published as Amendment sought for Cambria Green refused by Tasmanian Planning Commission
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