Local community groups are strongly opposing a massive new car park development proposed by Parks and Wildlife Services, arguing it will destroy a threatened species habitat for a contentious Freycinet Visitor Gateway expansion.
A community information forum and field visit is being held in Coles Bay this Sunday 28 September 2025.
Media release – Freycinet Action Network, 24 September 2025
Why pave paradise just to put up a parking lot?
The Coles Bay Community are coming out strongly against a proposed new 350+ space carpark taking up 3.1 hectares that is planned to completely destroy an area of threatened species described as a beautiful wildflower meadow.
“People come to visit these special places to see nature and the more heavy handed development to prioritise tourists, the less nature there is to see”, says Sophie Underwood from the Freycinet Action Network.
The Freycinet Action Network is planning a Coles Bay Community Forum and field visit where they will take the media and the community to the area where Parks and Wildlife Services intend on paving over.
They will be joined by a threatened species experts who will survey the site and show the community the incredibly diverse and precious ecosystem that is planned for destruction.
The Freycinet Action Network has a better plan for where to place more spaces for cars, citing that adding to the current visitor centre is the best location.
“We need to think about the visitor experience and not just the numbers.
“The tourism sector in this fragile area should be focused on offering quality over quantity”, says Underwood.
“This development plan to double tourism numbers to 600,000 a year is not going down well with the locals and the push back from community is huge. There is no social license for this plan, but the community is happy to discuss upgrading a site already in use to accommodate visitors.”
The public meeting will start at Coles Bay Town Hall and then go to a field visit of the proposed carpark site.
Sunday, 28 September 2025
Community Forum & Q+A
Time: 10:30 – 11:30
Venue: Coles Bay Community Hall, 60 Harold Street
Field Visit
Time: 12:00 – 13:30
Venue: Coles Bay Public Reserve
The community can RSVP to this free event here.
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