Automotive hub fails to attract dealers

Years of planning for an automotive hub in Busselton appear to have come to nothing after no car dealers expressed an interest in moving to the Chapman Hill Road site.

The development was given the green light by the WA Planning Commission more than a year ago.

But TME Town Planning Management Engineering planning manager Gary Barbour told the Times the land owner was yet to apply to subdivide the land.

“While the Development Guide Plan has been approved, absolutely no car dealers have expressed any interest in the site, ” he said.

“As such no further works have been undertaken at this stage.”

Fennessey Holden and Nissan managing director Ray Mountney said he was not surprised by the outcome because automotive developments needed to be located on arterial roads and Chapman Hill Road did not come under this category.

“It was never really considered by us as a viable site, ” he said.

“All this effort and all this cost has amounted to absolutely nothing.”

Mr Mountney owns land on the corner of Causeway Road and the Busselton Bypass which he wanted to develop into an automotive hub.

But after the WA Planning Commission struck down the plans due to concerns about visual impact on the entry to Busselton, he is now investigating setting up a farmer’s market.

Mr Mountney said car dealers had been left in a position where they would have to “do the best with what we’ve got.”

“I am enormously concerned about continued growth of Busselton and therefore obvious growth of the car industry, ” he said.

“The traffic on Bussell Highway and West Street is going to be a nightmare.”

Busselton Toyota dealer principal Laurie Saltarini said they were committed to their current premises after recently investing in a major refurbishment.

Mr Saltarini said he was never interested in the Chapman Hill Road site. “We make business decisions that are viable and we won’t be moving to the site because I don’t believe it’s financially viable to do that, ” he said.

City of Busselton planning and development services director Paul Needham said they were disappointed with the lack of interest at Chapman Hill Road.

“It was a site that was supported by existing car dealers, was supported by the landowner and was consistent with the City’s favoured planning direction which is not to support further commercialisation or development of commercial strips along roads like Bussell Highway or the Busselton Bypass, ” he said.

Mr Needham said other areas were identified for future showroom/service commercial development for dealers to be located.