Billionaire Forrests’ Ningaloo Resort Poised for Approval

Set within view of the state heritage listed Vlamingh Head lighthouse, the centrepiece of the project is adaptive reuse of a historic lighthouse keepers’ quarters as the resort’s main reception and administration area.

Z1Z’s development application said the resort has been designed with the project’s location beside “the UNESCO World Heritage listed Ningaloo Reef and the stunning scenery of the North West Cape” in mind.

Designed by Woods Bagot, the resort would include a pool and spa, function spaces, restaurant, manager’s residence, staff accommodation, 114 car bays and four mini-bus bays. The buildings would be modular and fabricated off-site.

Paths for internal travel by golf-buggies and pedestrians are proposed throughout the site, including a path to the beach.

The path to project approval has been protracted, with several plans for the site evaporating into the warm Exmouth air. This included an application submitted by Z1Z to WA’s regional development assessment panel in 2021 that was withdrawn while Aboriginal cultural heritage and environmental approvals were being obtained.

▲ A rendering of the planned resort’s swimming pool, with the landmark Vlamingh Head lighthouse in the far background.

Shire of Exmouth chief executive Ben Lewis has recommended that the latest iteration of the resort be approved when the panel meets on May 14.

“The proposal now under consideration is the culmination of past visions and proposals, the aforementioned approvals, and ongoing engagement with the traditional custodians of the Ningaloo Coast—the Baiyungu and Yinnigurrura people,” he said in a report to the panel.

Lewis said the project would provide a “unique short-stay option for visitors and tourists to Exmouth”.

One sticking point is a mandated contribution toward public art on the site, which Z1Z argued should be capped at $200,000.

“The proposed $200,000 contribution remains a generous allocation in the context of the proposed development as a semi-remote tourism asset, with limited foot traffic, and where the desired streetscape and visual amenity of the area is defined primarily by the integration and connection with the natural environment,” Z1Z’s development application said.

“The project is investing significant funds in the conservation and adaptive reuse of the Lighthouse Keepers’ Quarters as a significant contribution to the conservation and interpretation of the social and built heritage character of the area.

“The remote location of the subject site already results in significant challenges in the commercial feasibility of the project, which would be exacerbated by strict adherence to the 1 per cent public art contribution requirement.”

But Lewis has stared Z1Z down, recommending a $700,000 public art contribution as a condition of approval.

If approved, the resort would have 50 single-bedroom villas, including 18 villas of a dual-key arrangement that provides for a third bedroom when combined.

Five premium hilltop villas—each with a deck and plunge pool—are proposed, as are a universally accessible villa and a pair of two-bedroom villas.

▲ A rendering of the Ningaloo lighthouse resort that has been recommended for approval.

The resort would be powered by electricity from Exmouth’s grid and photovoltaic panels to be affixed to some buildings.

Potable water would be sourced from groundwater bores.

Grey and black water would be processed by a new onsite recycling plant. The wastewater would be collected and gravity-fed to a series of pumping stations, pumped to a proposed recycling plant, then used to irrigate the site.

Stormwater collected from natural and roadside swales and a diversion bund would feed the site’s central swale that drains into the Indian Ocean.

The project approval would last four years.

Z1Z declined to comment ahead of the assessment panel meeting.