Construction of one of Western Australia’s largest tourism resorts north of Perth, the Jurien Bay Beach Resort, has been delayed by 12 months because of dust management issues.
A development application by Taggart Developments for the $80 million, 106-villa resort, was approved by the Shire of Dandaragan in March this year but it has taken more than six months for contract builders Keytown Constructions to secure a building licence.
Taggart Developments director Darren Taggart said dust management guidelines imposed by the shire meant there was insufficient time to start construction of the resort this year, with earthworks expected to take more than 60 days to complete.
Under shire development guidelines, earthworks must be carried out between April 1 and August 31 in any given year.
“The building licence approval took more time than expected, and we will be looking at all avenues available to Taggart Developments to recover costs from responsible parties for unreasonable delays,” Mr Taggart said.
Construction will now start in April 2008, with completion expected in April 2009.
Shire deputy chief executive Ian Rennie said while he was not aware construction of the project had been delayed, council had made sure its development conditions were satisfied before issuing a building licence.
“The dust management guidelines are standard policy, unless there are extenuating circumstances. Bulk earthworks in exposed areas are a problem on the coastal plain when residential subdivisions are nearby,” he said.
Council has come under increasing pressure in recent years dealing with a number of major tourism and residential subdivisions proposed for the Jurien Bay area.
Along with Taggart Developments’ resort on four hectares, Line View Investments has 20 tourist units planned for Jurien Bay, while Sage Corp Properties recently completed its $20 million, 67-unit Jurien Bay Seafront Estates development.
The biggest of all is Ardross Estates’ Turquoise Coast Development, currently under construction, comprising about 1,400 tourist beds, 500 caravan sites and more than 500 residential lots.