Property developer Strategic Alliance and Commercial Pty Ltd has proposed a large-scale tourist accommodation project on Lot 102 Hoffnungsthal Road in southern rural Barossa, on very high bushfire risk land, in the Character Preservation District and Significant Landscape Protection overlay. It has been referred to in the media as “The InterContinental Barossa Resort & Spa”.

IT IS HUGE! 

• Nearly 14,000 m², nearly 20 metres high and 235 metres long (Adelaide Oval is 167m long)

Within 15km of Barossa Park, Lyndoch, there are already:

Three specifically zoned areas deemed suitable for large-scale luxury tourist accommodation projects          

• Château Tanunda
• Novotel, Rowland Flat - in addition to the existing resort, 120 hectares of unused and zoned land could be further developed. 
• Seppeltsfield

And

• The Nexus (Yaldara Drive, Lyndoch) is an approved large-scale luxury tourist accommodation project.
• The Sandy Creek Resort, located at the golf club, is another proposed large-scale luxury tourist accommodation project.

The proposed site of the InterContinental Barossa Resort & Spa is in the foothills of the Barossa Range, on very high bushfire risk rural land. It is in the Character Preservation District and Significant Landscape Protection (SLP) Overlay. 

The Character Preservation Act and SLP overlay are there to preserve Barossa’s special character and protect significant landscapes from inappropriate development.

The Supreme Court of South Australia has ruled that a resort in Barossa’s Rural Zone must NOT be approved (Geber Super Pty Ltd v The Barossa Assessment Panel).

Had the developers followed the usual route through the Barossa Council, like a local resident, their application would have been refused due to the Supreme Court ruling.

Instead, the developers sought an alternative pathway, and their proposal has been elevated to ministerial determination.

So, we ask the Hon. Nick Champion MP, Minister for Planning, to preserve and protect Barossa and say NO to the proposed Southern Barossa tourism accommodation project NOW.