Published on Thursday, 24 April 2025 at 11:01:28 AM
At its meeting on 23 April the City of Busselton Council made the decision to retain the current permitted uses at two of the City’s popular local beaches, Wonnerup beach and Forrest beach, and to improve local infrastructure to ensure people are using these beaches appropriately. This decision will ensure the continuation of horse riding and four wheel driving in specified areas in accordance with existing regulations.
A community-wide survey was conducted in March 2025 which attracted 652 responses. Of these, 71.5% were “unhappy” or “very unhappy” about the idea of modifying the existing uses of each beach, and 70.7% were “unhappy” or “very unhappy” about the idea of implementing seasonal rules and time restrictions.
Mayor Phill Cronin stated: “It was very clear from the survey that people did not want to see the current uses changed, but there was a strong message from the community that compliance issues needed to be resolved. We wanted to address escalating community concerns relating to safety and amenity associated with inappropriate beach use in the Forrest beach area and with new infrastructure, including signage, all beach users should be very clear on which areas they can conduct their activities. It is also critically important that we do what we can to protect the coastal environment, and the new infrastructure should serve to prevent further damage to our dune systems.”
The Council has allocated $100K across the next two financial years to install the necessary infrastructure to better manage access and amenity at these beaches.
Mayor Cronin said: “We have committed to constructing a formal car park for horse floats, as well as some other infrastructure such as bollards and signage, which should ensure people using these beaches are doing so in accordance with the permitted uses. On behalf of the Council, I thank the community for bringing these issues to our attention and for taking the time to provide comments through the survey which helped inform our decision.”
The survey results are available on the City’s Your Say Busselton engagement platform.
Objectives outlined in this statement are aligned with the City of Busselton’s Council Plan (2024 - 2034) Key Theme Environment – An environment that is valued, conserved and able to be enjoyed by current and future generations.
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Ends. Media enquiries can be directed to pr@busselton.wa.gov.au
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