Cossack Townsite precinct scheme amendment and conservation management plan
- Client Name
- City of Karratha
- Location
- Western Australia
Challenge
Cossack is a heritage-listed town established in 1863 as the first port in the north–west of Australia. Today, it contains a number of extant buildings, archaeological sites, and Aboriginal sites, all of which have cultural value in their own right and contribute to the overall heritage significance of Cossack. The town is located in one of the oldest geological regions in Australia and encompasses Aboriginal prehistoric, British colonial, and Asian immigrant adaptations, making it a unique and rare cultural landscape.
The City of Karratha has a vision to establish Cossack as a tourism drawcard for the region, but it is subject to both inundation risk and coastal erosion processes.
Solution
The team prepared a Conservation Management Plan (CMP) for Cossack in accordance with Department of Planning, Lands, and Heritage guidelines to:
- Identify, understand, and articulate the heritage values of the site and its component parts.
- Develop policies to protect and conserve the heritage values of the site and to inform the future planning of tourism focused development.
The CMP was accompanied by a Coastal Hazard Risk Management and Adaptation Plan (CHRMAP) prepared in conjunction with MP Rogers & Associates. It assessed the future risk of flooding and coastal erosion, and how the site could be managed and adapted to mitigate that risk as far as possible. As part of the assessment, the team identified and mapped the risks of storm surge inundation and coastal erosion and identified appropriate planning and adaptation responses to support the City’s vision for the development of temporary tourism and accommodation structures. In addition to this, the team prepared a Scheme Amendment to integrate key requirements of the CMP and CHRMAP into the City’s local planning scheme, while also removing previous statutory impediments to development.
Given the area's significance, the team also prepared a holistic understanding and management plan for the location.
Impact
The CLMP, CMP, and CHRMAP provided the City of Karratha with a considered and strategic basis to consider future tourism, heritage, and environmental impacts for the site. The work supported discussions with the Heritage Council, the Department of Local Government, and the Department of Planning, Lands, and Heritage.
The Cultural Landscape Management Plan was only the second one of its kind prepared in Western Australia. The first being the Rottnest Island Wadjemup Cultural Landscape Management Plan, also prepared by the team.
