Adrian Fini’s Smiths Beach Yallingup resort plan caves to ‘seawall’ pressure

A Yallingup hotel development helmed by influential developer Adrian Fini has withdrawn plans for a 100 metre-long wall structure abutting the beach after relentless opposition from locals. It was revealed on Thursday proponent company Smiths 2014 — of which Mr Fini is the sole director — made a request to the State’s Environmental Protection Authority to scrap what had been billed a universal access ramp, from its proposal. Instead a new “sub-surface erosion control structure” has been factored into the build, which an EPA spokesperson said would be “entirely within the proponent’s boundary”. They said the proponent had taken community concerns regarding coastal erosion, visual amenity and potential impact on coastal processes into account and as a result had “decided to remove the proposed feature that was causing the most concern.” “The EPA considers there are no new environmental factors raised as a result of the proposed amendment so the proponent’s request has been accepted.” A spokesperson for the Smiths Beach Project team said the ramp had originally been intended as part of broader upgrades to the foreshore that would improve beach access for the community. “Feedback received clearly indicates a strong community preference to retain the current informal beach access and avoid physical changes to the beachfront,” they said. The backflip has come as a surprise to Smiths Beach Action Group, which has long been opposed to the scale of the proposed build currently being assessed by the State’s environmental watchdog. Spokesperson David Mitchell sees the amendment as a victory for the group, but is still wary of how the new structure will turn out and reiterated his concerns regarding the development’s proximity to the Leeuwin Naturaliste National Park. “This is a great announcement but it’s just a small victory,” he told The West Australian. “The beach is saved but Smiths is not, the visual pollution of the hotel and luxury homes due to increased development area is unacceptable.” Deputy Leader of the Opposition Libby Mettam said it was “encouraging” that the seawall had been removed. “There was significant concern that this ramp would destroy the entire western end of Smiths Beach, making it unusable to the public,” she said. “I hope the final decision later in the year will respect previous years of planning decisions on the unique environmental and amenity of this area.” There were 2260 submissions made to the EPA calling for a full review of the project when it was first referred in 2022. About 10.7 hectares of land would be cleared to make way for the development as part of a broader 41.79ha development envelope. A campground and 61 holiday homes would be built should the EPA approve the project. Smiths 2014 will respond to submissions from an eight-week public review of the development in the next few weeks. A decision from the EPA as to whether it recommends the resort be built is due at the end of the year.

Adrian Fini’s Smiths Beach Yallingup resort plan caves to ‘seawall’ pressure

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