A group of concerned residents in the Barossa has started a petition to try to stop a proposal for a large resort on rural land between Williamstown and Lyndoch.
The petition currently has more than 700 signatures.
The proposal – for The InterContinental Barossa Resort & Spa by Strategic Alliance and Commercial Pty Ltd – is on a vineyard at the corner of Menzel Road and Hoffnungsthal Road.
It is the Tweedies Gully Vineyard which was sold last year.
The proposed resort is 20 metres high and 235 metres long.
“We’ve started a petition to preserve and protect Barossa from this proposal on rural land within the Barossa Character Preservation District and Significant Landscape Protection overlay, which preserve Barossa’s character and protect significant landscapes from inappropriate development,” group spokesman Matthew McCulloch says.
“We support tourism development and investment in our region, and we recognise that well-planned, appropriately located projects can bring significant benefits, stimulating the local economy, providing jobs and supporting Barossa’s world-renowned visitor experiences.
“Developments in appropriately zoned locations for large-scale tourist infrastructure can be accommodated without encroaching on protected rural land.”
The group questions whether the region will need more accommodation given the projects already underway.
Both the 124-room Nexus Barossa at Lyndoch and the 71-room Oscar Seppeltsfield have been approved.
The Sandy Creek Resort is also proposed for Sandy Creek with 81 suites and 21 villas.
“All of this in addition to the existing 140-room Novotel Barossa Valley Resort at Rowland Flat which has an additional 120 hectares of land that could be developed further,” the group says.
“There are 341 active Airbnb listings in the Barossa region with an occupancy rate of 59 percent.
“How many tourist accommodation developments does Barossa need?”
The Supreme Court of South Australia has already ruled that a resort in Barossa’s Rural Zone must not be approved.
“If the developers, who are not from Barossa, had followed the usual route through the Barossa Council, their application would have been refused due to the Supreme Court ruling,” the group says.
“Instead, they sought an alternative pathway, and their proposal has been elevated to ministerial determination by the Honourable Nick Champion MP, Minister for Planning.”
The group says InterContinental Hotels & Resorts operates properties in globally renowned, premium wine regions, including Bordeaux in the city of Bordeaux, Burgundy in the town of Beaune, Central Otago in Queenstown, Mornington Peninsula in Sorrento, Napa in Napa, Porto in Porto, Rioja in Logroño and Veneto in Verona.
“None are in vineyards, so why should Barossa be any different?” the group says.
“The Barossa Valley Character Preservation Act provides measures to protect and enhance the special character of the Barossa Valley, and the Significant Landscape Protection overlay seeks to conserve the natural and rural character, as well as the scenic and cultural qualities, of significant landscapes.
“Napa has the Ag Land Preservation, and UNESCO World Heritage Sites preserve and protect Burgundy’s climates and terroirs, as well as the hillsides of Champagne and Prosecco, and the vineyard landscapes of the Douro Valley and Piedmont.”