Golf course development in South Arm, Tasmania, gets the nod
The developers of a links golf course at Opossum Bay in southern Tasmania have reassured locals they will always have access to the land.
The Arm End project was granted a lease from the Parks and Wildlife Service to build the course on 121 hectares of crown land.
Project manager Craig Ferguson said the first job was to eradicate weeds and regenerate native vegetation.
He said as well as the golf course, the project would include a golf hut, cafe and car park as well as walking and cycling tracks.
"The site is spectacular, it is public land and it always will be public land," he said.
"We're looking to improve it on an environmental level and the environmental rehabilitation program will be supported by the world-class public golf course."
The project was first proposed four years ago and now a lease has been granted.
Proponents said the site would remain open for free and unrestricted access for the whole community.
Some residents of South Arm and Opossum Bay feared public access to the land would be compromised.
Noela Foxtrot from Friends of the Arm said she did not think golf course and public pathways mixed.
"Would you want to cycle with balls going hither and thither?"
She said she was also concerned that the developers have been given a private lease on 121 hectares of public land.
"This, in effect, privatises an area of stunning beauty and natural tranquillity that's used so much by so many people in the community," she said.
Resident Brian Eldridge said the land was degraded and really needed work.
"It really needed something. It was going backwards," he said.
Construction was expected to start next year and be completed by 2016.
