The Shire of Augusta Margaret River has been successful in the prosecution of property owners in the region's south east.
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A magistrate last week ruled in favour of the Shire as it pursued the owners of Lot 449 Milyeannup Coast Rd, Scott River East for unauthorised development, including clearing of approximately 16 hectares of native bush, which includes the rare and endangered flora species, Lambertia Orbifolia.
The Shire alleged the property owners did not seek relevant approvals before undertaking the works in early 2022, and therefore that the clearing was illegal.
Four separate areas of land were cleared, with a combined size of around 16 hectares - the equivalent of 9 Optus stadiums.
...on behalf of our community we wanted to make a stand.
- Julia Meldrum, Shire President
The case, which was heard over five days in March this year, was adjourned until 26 June when the magistrate handed down his ruling, finding Blue Whale Farm Plantation Pty Ltd guilty of the charge of commencing a development without an approval.
Shire President Julia Meldrum said the outcome demonstrated the Shire's ongoing commitment to the protecting the environment.
"Our beautiful, natural environment is a major part of what makes Augusta-Margaret River such a special place, and preserving the biodiversity of the region is important to our community," she said.
"There are no winners when it comes to the destruction of the environment, and on behalf of our community we wanted to make a stand.
"While the result won't change what has happened, we believe the ruling speaks to the importance of protecting vulnerable ecology."
Cr Meldrum said rules and regulations were in place to make sure any changes or developments on land was undertaken safely, considered the environment, and how it might affect others in the area.
"One of the ways the Shire works to protect the environment is through our building approval processes and landowners need to ensure they have secured the correct approvals before commencing any work on any property in the Shire," she said.
"In this situation flouting the rules has caused devastating destruction of extremely rare flora."
The matter was adjourned for closing submissions ahead of sentencing later this month.
