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Kambalda golf course identified by shire for potential accommodation development

Headshot of Carwyn Monck
Carwyn MonckKalgoorlie Miner
Shire of Coolgardie chief executive James Trail says the Kambalda Golf Course site could be used to develop a residential area or workers’ accommodation camp.
Camera IconShire of Coolgardie chief executive James Trail says the Kambalda Golf Course site could be used to develop a residential area or workers’ accommodation camp. Credit: Tori O'Connor/Kalgoorlie Miner

The Shire of Coolgardie is looking to develop a residential area or workers’ camp at Kambalda Golf Course and other locations in the shire to help ease the accommodation crisis.

Councillors voted in support for a request for freehold ownership and land purchase of a parcel of land at Kambalda Golf Course at Tuesday’s council meeting.

They also moved to re-zone the reserve from public open space to special use, which covers recreation, tourism and workforce accommodation.

It comes after the council approved the construction of a 200-room workers’ accommodation village on Salmon Gum Road in Kambalda West earlier this year.

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In September 2021 Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage officers met shire representatives to inspect suitable land for development opportunities within and near townsites.

Shire chief executive James Trail told the Kalgoorlie Miner the shire had been working with the State Government for about two years to identify land around Kambalda and Coolgardie suitable for development of residential and workers’ accommodation.

“The move towards looking at a number of these reserves, even towards freehold, has been at the discretion and recommendations of State officers,” he said.

“The (Kambalda Golf Course) land now is being moved towards freehold and then the shire will look at what opportunities may exist on developing on that land.”

Mr Trail said the shire had also been in discussion with mining companies operating in the region to identify accommodation requirements for their workers.

He said the shire was now “ahead of the game” by inspecting potential sites for workforce or residential accommodation.

“There’s a housing crisis, there’s a workers’ accommodation crisis and now the Shire of Coolgardie has been working to look at that. Freeing up land allows us to be able to take advantage of the opportunities where we can,” he said.

“In Coolgardie we’re talking to three mining companies at the moment that are looking at wanting to take up housing and residential development in the town site, the same in Kambalda.

“If they don’t get land, then it’s going to impact significantly on major projects in the Goldfields-Esperance region. If there’s no land, there’s no accommodation and they can’t develop and expand.”

Mr Trail said six areas of land around Kambalda and Coolgardie had been identified for potential development, including an 85-hectare site at the old Coolgardie golf course which the shire was also looking to gain freehold.

He said another site in the centre of Coolgardie could accommodate about 50 residential lots.

The golf course site is also part of the Nullarbor Links golf course which stretches from Ceduna in South Australia to Kalgoorlie-Boulder and is referred to as “the world’s longest golf course”.

The shire has been working with the Nullarbor Links organisation to establish a new golf course hole in Widgiemooltha later this year.

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