Planning minister approves onshore abalone farm after six-year battle

The council supported the initial abalone farm development at Dutton Way, which was overturned by VCAT in 2020.

Yumbah Aquaculture then submitted a revised proposal to the state government.

Council noted support for the project in its submission to the Planning Panels Victoria committee set up by the government to consider the amended, smaller proposal in 2023.

"A revised list of extensive conditions was also submitted to the committee that have been incorporated into the decision," Cr Stephens said.

She said the state government had also approved a Coles supermarket in Portland.

She said both projects would bring an economic boost to the region with about 120 construction and 50 direct ongoing jobs from the abalone farm, and 220 direct ongoing jobs at Coles, as well as many more indirect jobs.

"While both these developments are multi-million dollar projects to build, more importantly they will also bring an even larger ongoing boost to the Shire economy by the number of ongoing jobs they create," Cr Stephens said.

The Standard asked the Department for Transport and Planning for a copy of the planner's report, which was declined.

Earlier, March 27: A 500-tonne abalone farm on a parcel of coastal land at Portland's Dutton Way could be operational by late 2029 after a six-year battle between developers and residents.

The Victorian Department for Transport and Planning announced at 2.55pm on March 26, 2024, its approval of changes to the Glenelg Shire Planning Scheme to enable the new onshore abalone farm proposed by Yumbah Aquaculture.

It came 12 months after expert and community testimonies were aired in a two-week Planning Panels Victoria hearing in 2023.

The amendment will come into effect when notice of its approval is published in the Victoria Government Gazette.

Yumbah chief executive officer David Wood said it brought to an end some six years of uncertainty over the proposal, which is "underpinned by an investment of more than $50 million in local industry providing 120 direct and 75 indirect jobs during construction plus 50 direct and 25 new high-skilled roles in operations".

He said the certainty meant Yumbah could now commence detailed design to meet the state government's two-year commencement requirement.

Mr Wood said it was expected the farm would be operational by late 2029.

"It is also important to acknowledge the commitment and resolve of the Yumbah people at our Narrawong farm, who've continued to work with a passion for our industry over the years this proposal has been in the spotlight," he said.

But for Dutton Way residents, who have lobbied against the proposal for years, it's a different story.

Resident Fiona Wright said protesters were "utterly crushed".

"These are families and people who have lived here for years, having a monstrous industrial-size abalone farm plonked right in the middle of it," she said.

"It is awful".

Mrs Wright said she heard the news via email on the afternoon of March 26, 2024.

"We thought given the length of time it has taken to make a decision that maybe it was going to be a positive outcome," she said.

"Everyone has been held in limbo."

Mrs Wright said it had been close to a six-year fight with the group first lobbying Glenelg Shire Council but losing, despite a 3000-signature petition and "hundreds and hundreds of submissions".

The plan was also approved by the Environment Protection Authority but later set aside by VCAT after 27 days of hearing.

The tribunal ruled in December 2020 the aquaculture facility would change the character of the rural living zone due to its scale and visual impact.

But Yumbah Aquaculture applied directly to the Victorian Planning Minister, Richard Wynne, to have a revised proposal approved through the government's Development Facilitation Program.

"We went through another two-week hearing in front of a three-member panel," Mrs Wright said.

"We thought we mounted a very good case and they could not have doubted that it was an inappropriate development.

"We are gutted".

The protesters have repeatedly stated the residents group were not opposed to Yumbah Aquaculture setting up a large abalone farm "in the right place".

The abalone farm would be located on a 63-hectare site north-west of the Henty Bay Beachfront Holiday Park.

Yumbah Aquaculture operates farms in Narrawong, 15 kilometers east of Portland, Bicheno in Tasmania, Port Lincoln, South Australia and Kangaroo Island.