A $70-million luxury beach resort planned by iron ore magnates Andrew and Nicola Forrest has been unanimously approved by a state assessment panel after a five-year journey.

Z1Z Resorts, the accommodation and entertainment arm of the Forrests’ company Tattarang, is behind the proposed 57-unit Ningaloo Lighthouse Resort on the 45.3ha site of the former Vlamingh Head Lighthouse Holiday Park.

About 16km north of Exmouth, off Yardie Creek Road near the northernmost tip of Western Australia’s remote North West Cape peninsula, the site borders and overlooks a bay with a sandy shoreline not far from the Vlamingh Head lefthand surf break.

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 to Western Australia’s regional development assessment panel said the resort had been designed with its location beside “the UNESCO World Heritage listed Ningaloo Reef and the stunning scenery of the North West Cape” in mind.

At the panel meeting on May 14, chair Clayton Higham said the block had hosted tourism activities for “quite some time”.

“This is an opportunity to upgrade the offering and provide a more sustainable development,” he said.

“This is a quality proposed development, which has given due regard to the environment and the heritage elements.

“Benefits will flow to the community.”

Designed by Woods Bagot, the project is slated to 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 had 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 This included an application submitted by Z1Z to WA’s regional development assessment panel in 2021 that was withdrawn while Aboriginal cultural heritage and environmental approvals were being obtained.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 lighthouse in the far background.

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

Ahead of the panel meeting, a report by Shire of Exmouth chief executive Ben Lewis recommended that the latest iteration of the resort be approved.

“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.

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

One sticking point was 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 stared Z1Z down, recommending a $700,000 public art contribution as a condition of approval. At the panel meeting, SLR Consulting’s Dan Lees, acting for Z1Z, did not push the issue.

“We acknowledge that the shire has recommended the one per cent, as per their policy, and we’re not necessarily looking to press that any futher,” he said.

“We can accept the contributions as recommended.”

And the $700,000 figure stuck.

If built as now 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.

An external rendering of the planned Ningaloo lighthouse resort.

▲ 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 will last four years.

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This article, previously published under the headline Billionaire Forrests’ Ningaloo Resort Poised for Approval, has been updated and republished.

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