Vinterra Resort at Palmer Wines – Bushfire Management Planning

Client

TopSouth Holding Pty Ltd

Bushfire Prone Planning was engaged by Cogplex Pty Ltd to prepare a Bushfire Management Plan (BMP) and Bushfire Emergency Plan (BEP) for the proposed Vinterra Resort, located at the existing Palmer Wines estate in the Margaret River Region, Western Australia. The project expands the well-established Palmer Wines winery and restaurant into a premium coastal resort destination, designed to combine luxury accommodation, wellness, art, and the natural beauty of the Margaret River region.

The proposed development includes:

  • 138 luxury hotel suites
  • 10 private villas
  • Conference and wellness centre
  • Interactive nature pathway
  • Landscaped resort grounds integrated with the coastal environment

Challenge

The site is located in a bushfire-prone coastal environment, requiring the project to demonstrate compliance with Western Australian bushfire planning policy and statutory requirements.

The development also sits adjacent to the Tobys Inlet foreshore, where environmental and revegetation objectives needed to be maintained while ensuring landscaping and design decisions did not increase bushfire risk. Balancing luxury landscape design, environmental sensitivity, and bushfire safety was therefore a key challenge for the project team.

Approach

BPP was engaged early in the design and planning phase, allowing our team to work closely with the project consultants and landscape architects to integrate bushfire risk management into the design from the outset.

Our involvement included:

  • Providing strategic bushfire planning advice during concept design
  • Assisting with landscape design decisions and plant species selection
  • Ensuring landscaping reduced fuel loads and bushfire risk
  • Supporting compliance with state bushfire planning requirements
  • Preparing a Bushfire Management Plan and Bushfire Emergency Plan to support development approval

This early collaboration enabled the design team to achieve a balance between luxury resort landscaping, environmental outcomes, and bushfire resilience.

Outcome

Through early engagement and integrated planning, BPP helped the project achieve compliance with Western Australian bushfire planning requirements while maintaining the architectural and landscape vision for a premium resort development.

The result is a carefully considered design that supports the creation of a high-end tourism destination at Palmer Wines, while managing bushfire risk and respecting the site’s unique coastal environment along Tobys Inlet.

This material, including all images, concepts, visualisations, architectural impressions and written content, is the intellectual property of TopSouth Holdings Pty Ltd and Cogplex Pty Ltd. The information reproduced or referenced by third parties has been extracted from the “Vinterra Resort – Dunsborough” development presentation 1271 Caves rd, Quindalup  and is used with permission strictly for the purpose of acknowledging their involvement as consultants  to the project. No part of this material may be altered, re‑branded, or represented as the work of any party other than TopSouth Holdings Pty Ltd and Cogplex Pty Ltd. All rights are reserved.
Disclaimer & Waiver of Liability
This document has been prepared by Cogplex Pty Ltd exclusively for TopSouth Holdings Pty Ltd for general information and presentation purposes. While every effort has been made to ensure accuracy, the information is provided in good faith and on an “as is” basis. Neither Cogplex Pty Ltd, TopSouth Holdings Pty Ltd, nor any of their directors, officers or employees make any representation, warranty or undertaking (express or implied) as to the accuracy, adequacy, reliability or completeness of the information contained herein. To the fullest extent permitted by law, both Cogplex Pty Ltd and TopSouth Holdings Pty Ltd disclaim all liability and responsibility for any loss, damage or expense incurred by any party arising from the use of or reliance upon this material. Recipients should conduct their own investigations and obtain independent professional advice. Nothing in this disclaimer limits any rights under the Australian Consumer Law.