Bringing locals along for the ride on Cambria development on Tasmania’s East Coast

RONALD HU says community involvement is needed for the long haul on the development of the Cambria property near Swansea.

A view across the land involved in the Cambria development near Swansea and Dolphin Sands.

THE development of the entire Cambria property on the East Coast will take both time and the long-term involvement of the Swansea community and its surrounds.

Cambria Green Agriculture & Tourism Management Pty Ltd has been planning the development for the past three years. We have gone to the Glamorgan-Spring Bay Council for a planning scheme amendment, an independent process, which identifies the land values to be protected, as well as opportunities and capacity for development.

Cambria Green wants the guidelines to drive the development, rather than vice versa, and logically, these provisions need to be agreed on before the design process begins.

The first part of the development will be the restoration of the historic and heritage-listed Cambria homestead and the surrounding English Gardens.

The entire scope of the Cambria Green development will include:

AGRICULTURE (organic farming) — orchards, crops, grazing and hay production, and vineyards;

TOURISM DEVELOPMENT — resort, motel, international conference facilities and dwellings;

HEALTH RETREATS — recuperation holiday accommodation

GOLF COURSE — an 18-hole links course, including club rooms; and

LIGHT AIRCRAFT landing strip — including scenic flight facilities, Royal Flying Doctor Service facilities.

The development will happen over some time. It would be naive to think plans developed today would not need to change over five to 10 years. And that’s why Cambria Green is keen to consult and listen to the community, because we are sure the residents and businesses of Swansea will provide informed and intelligent input over that period.

Our site, which is privately owned land, is listed under the Historic Cultural Heritage Act, which requires that a works application be made under that Act before any works are done.

The amendment we have sought from council is in the form of a Specific Area Plan to:

PROVIDE for use and development of the site that utilises the agricultural, natural, and historic heritage assets as the basis for regionally significant economic tourism development;

IDENTIFY precincts that recognise the specific land characteristics, and manages use and development that is appropriate to the features of the landscape;

REINSTATE and protect the importance of the Cambria Homestead as a historic focal point for the community and visitors; and

PROTECT the most productive agricultural land and ensure that adjoining land uses conflicts are minimised or integrated with agricultural activities.

Tasmania is an increasingly popular destination for interstate and overseas visitors. Visitor numbers to the state were up 8 per cent in 2017 from the previous year, with 1.28 million visitors.

And there was a net 19 per cent growth in international tourism arrival numbers from the year 2012 to 2015, notably a 281.6 per cent increase in tourist numbers from China, resulting in the largest number of overseas tourists in that year.

Tourism Tasmania data shows a 10 per cent increase in visitor numbers arriving on the East Coast in 2017 from the previous year, with 377,600 visitors to the region from interstate and overseas.

The heritage-listed Cambria Homestead.

Cambria Green’s goal is to take advantage of the growing tourism numbers to Tasmania and the East Coat, developing an overall experience.

We believe Cambria can become the premium wedding venue on the East Coast of Tasmania, if not the entire state. It will be able to cater for and accommodate 200-plus people at an event, which is not possible anywhere at present, with people having to travel back to Launceston or Hobart.

An international conference centre has long been spoken about as necessary for the East Coast, let alone in Hobart and Launceston.

An 18-hole, world-class, links golf course at Cambria would create the middle step of the long-anticipated “golf trail” from Barnbougle and Lost Farm to the traditional courses of Royal Hobart and Tasmania in the South, with new links at Arm End and Seven Mile Beach being progressed.

Golf tourism is another high-end experience which will bring great benefit to the Tasmanian economy over decades.

Our planned upgrade of the existing airstrip will provide extra direct access to the East Coast, which like the rest of the state relies heavily on the strategic gateways of Hobart and Launceston.

Cambria Green believes that by staging our overall development over the next five to 10 years, we will be able to attract long-term jobs and population to the East Coast.

Because there will be hundreds of jobs in construction created and long-term jobs servicing the accommodation and tourism aspects of Cambria Green.

Cambria Green will be a multi-use development. People will come to our property to view the Cambria Homestead, the home of George Meredith, described as “the King of Great Swanport”, who constructed many of the buildings and formally planned the surrounding land.

The homestead is listed on the Tasmanian Heritage Register and is arguably the most important building in terms of historical and heritage values on the East Coast of Tasmania.

People will walk and bicycle around the property; they will eat at restaurants and drinks at bars, with the magnificent Hazards of Freycinet as the eternal backdrop, supporting the East Coast economy.

We believe Cambria will become a playground for all of Tasmania, as well as interstate and international visitors.

But it will take time and we are committed to bringing the community with us along this exciting journey.

Ronald Hu is chief executive of Cambria Green. He is based in Melbourne, where he has lived for 30 years.