Cradle village advances

DEVELOPERS will soon be invited to submit their ideas for offerings in an alpine-style village near the World Heritage-listed Cradle Mountain-Lake St Clair National Park.

The Government will launch the Cradle Mountain Expressions of Interest Investment Prospectus on Saturday to encourage and guide private development on a 13.5ha Crown Land site about 2km from the protected national park.

Local, national and international groups have already responded to Colliers International’s call-out for preliminary proposals for the Cradle Mountain village as advertised in June.

Speaking yesterday, Premier, Parks, Heritage and Tourism Minister Will Hodgman said the State Government would contribute $5 million to support the village’s development.

The village would be open to locals and tourists, ranging from backpackers to the luxury market. And the expressions of interest process would be thorough, Mr Hodgman said.

“We want to attract worldclass operators,” he said.

“We want people with bold ideas but also a sense of protecting and preserving the environment and ensuring the experience we have sits alongside what you might get at Uluru or the Great Barrier Reef. We need to not only compete with those places but set a very high standard.”

Expressions of interest will close March 15.

Also yesterday, Fairbrother was awarded a $12 million tender to construct buildings for the Cradle Mountain Gateway Precinct, including a new visitor services centre, commercial tour operators building and a cafe, and essential infrastructure services such as power, water and sewerage.

Cradle Mountain attracted 280,000 visitors in the last financial year and is expected to welcome 339,000 by 2020.

The Greens welcomed yesterday’s announcement but repeated calls for a cap on visitors.