Beach plan attracts public comment

Plans to spend millions of dollars to redevelop Koombana Beach and Casuarina Harbour attracted 170 submissions from the public.

The concept plans, which were unveiled at a public meeting last month, attracted mostly positive comments from the public, according to South West Development Commission chief executive officer Don Punch."I think it is important to recognise the concepts for this work started with a wide variety of stakeholders including the marine industry," he said.

"So we are pretty confident it came from a ground-up approach rather than a top-down approach."

Mr Punch said the Transforming Bunbury Steering Committee, which is spearheading the project, would have to review each of the submissions "line by line" to see if the concept plan needed changes.

"There could well be some really good ideas in there and there could be areas where people think we got it wrong," he said.

"So the job of the steering committee now is take all that feedback, weigh it up and look at what changes, if any, need to be made."

Once the final concept plan has been prepared, it will be sent to the State Government as part of a business case for funding from Royalties for Regions.

The Koombana Beach development, considered the first stage of the plan worth about $22 million, includes replacing un-used space with grassed areas, playgrounds and parks, an amphitheatre on the beach, and extending the rock groyne to include fishing and swimming platforms.

The plan also includes redeveloping the Dolphin Discovery Centre to enhance the "world class" tourist attraction.

The second stage focuses on Casuarina Harbour and will include a multi-storey, mixed-use development including cafes, shops and more boat pens.

A lot of development at Casuarina Harbour will need private investment as well as funding from the State Government.

Regional Development Minister Terry Redman has already given in-principle support for the project but wants to see the full plan before he decides to give it his backing.

"The development from Koombana Bay right through to what has been planned for Casuarina Harbour looks like an outstanding project," Mr Redman said.