MG Kailis Group’s tourist fishing village plans stalled as Exmouth council seeks more information

Plans for a unique tourist fishing village along the pristine Exmouth Gulf have stalled after the local government only provided in-principle support for the facility to be used for tourism. The Shire of Exmouth last month passed a motion to support a proposed fishing tourist village but was unable to progress a scheme amendment until further information was provided. As part of the motion, the local government requested MG Kailis group provide further information, including an acoustic assessment, site and soil report. MG Kailis Group executive chair George Kailis said there was a current need for a new tourist node in Exmouth. “Exmouth is full and our site is empty,” he said. Dr Kailis said the rezoning was an application to have the opportunity to submit a development application. “We are disappointed, through our consultants had put up a proposal that we believed was capable of being supported by council, especially given their in-principle support and we’re very thankful for that principle support for what we’re planning at Learmonth,” he said. “We’re sort of two steps away from actually the development application.” Dr Kailis said the site used to be zoned for other activities, including aquaculture, a caravan park and a cafe. “The council has asked us to review a whole range of matters and we’ll be working with our town planners to get back to them, accepting this is a pretty arcane bureaucracy, which is town planning,” he said. “I had to go and seek the advice of our town planners... and we’re really looking to build on their expression of in-principle support to see if we could overcome some of the concerns they have expressed, both directly and indirectly through the extra information.” Shire of Exmouth president Matt Niikkula said the council supported the Kailis endeavour in principal, but several steps were still needed before a scheme amendment could be considered. “Council’s ‘in principle’ support also acknowledges potential issues, required referrals, studies and data reports, which are required to be addressed with a formal request to initiate a scheme amendment for the subject site. “Council is required to follow due process for all developments. “The initial groundwork and planning are essential to ensure developments are appropriate for the site and area and will reduce delays further in the development process.” Mr Niikkula said the facility would help capitalise on Kailis’ history of the local award-winning prawning industry while offering visitors different accommodation types and activities. “Council is aware of the positive impacts and demonstrated this by providing ‘in-principle’ support for tourism and other incidental uses. “It also has the potential to create additional accommodation for workers, supporting our community directly with new job opportunities and the ability to house its own staff,” he said. “However, there are still several intermediate steps to be taken before the matter can be brought back to Council for consideration.”