Smiths Beach gets green light

The controversial Smiths Beach development in the South West has been approved, nine years after it was first proposed.

The Shire of Busselton yesterday voted unanimously to grant conditional approval to Canal Rocks Pty Ltd revised plan for a proposed tourism and residential development, with the council is hoping the compromise will resolve almost a decade of controversy.

Concerns about the size of the development led to the shire council and the Environmental Protection Authority rejecting earlier plans.

Busselton Shire president Wes Hartley said the smaller development should have been submitted by Canal Rocks nine years ago.

Canal Rocks has welcomed the unanimous support by the council for the revised plan.

"Whilst our preference was for the original plan, at least now we have a plan that is workable for all parties and which we can move forward with," it said in a statement.

"We are confident the outcome will benefit the region and the state."