Busselton businessmen Zeb and Asher Packard-Hair have stepped up to support the much-delayed foreshore microbrewery project.
The microbrewery was originally approved by the City of Busselton council on July 23, 2014.
The original concept plan included a 2100 square metre building which would be multi-storey. However, after a public review process, the City of Busselton council decided to reduce the building to 1700 square metres.
The location is set to host Blue Mile Brewery, the brewing component of Margaret River’s Credaro Family Wines.
Nearly five years later, the plan for a venue at the prime location has yet to come to fruition.
At the City of Busselton’s council meeting on January 30, Councillors debated whether to allow an extension to the development agreement deadline for the Credaro’s Geographe Bay Brewing Company Pty Ltd.
City of Busselton officers recommended extending the deadline to February 28, however, an amended motion by Councillor Paul Carter, to allow the proponents until April 1, received the majority of council’s support.
Cr Carter said the intention of the amended motion was to ensure Geographe Bay Brewing Company Pty Ltd and their new equity partner, the Packard-Hairs, had enough time to negotiate and proceed with confidence.
“Given the time frame to get to this point, and while I acknowledge the frustration Council has had with the lack of progress and various delays, to not allow this opportunity to achieve a positive and timely outcome would be disappointing for council and the community given the alternative, which is to go through the whole process again and likely delay the progress of this foreshore development by 12 months at a minimum,” he said.
The City of Busselton’s patience has been tested by project, which had suffered a number of setbacks.
The development agreement provided for the proponent to obtain a loan from a reputable financial institution to undertake the proposed development.
However, on several occasions the proponent had requested, and been granted, extensions of time to satisfy this condition.
Now, with the involvement of the Packard-Hairs as equity partners, the development could be completed by the spring of 2020, provided the partnership arrangement was formalised in coming months.
The Packard-Hair brothers own the Old Broadwater Farm wedding venue and Par 3 golf course.
Zeb Packard-Hair wasn’t willing to name a date that work on the project would start or when a venue would open, but told the Mail they wouldn’t be going through these processes unless they were serious about making the project a reality.
Mr Packard-Hair said when they heard about the opportunity to partner with the Credaro family they actively sought to meet with the fellow family business.
“For us, it’s not just because it is a good opportunity, we have had a significant and long interest in brewing and in a brewery for some time – what person wouldn't want to own a brewery,” he said.
“We had begun to investigate the possibility of a brewery somewhere but just hadn't found the opportunity.
“When this came on our radar, it was a happy coincidence, as it had something we’d been thinking about for two years.”
Mr Packard-Hair said they were even more motivated to jump on board with the development because it was another South West business family.
“I think if it was a big corporate or a non-local it might have been different but being another family, with a similar background in region to ours is really exciting,” he said.
“We know the Credaro boys and we were very excited when we heard who was going to be involved and how it is going to structured, it is like having a brewery with a bunch of our mates.”
Blue Mile Brewery part-owner Chris Cedaro said with the Packhard-Hairs on board, they were confident it would just be a matter of time before Busselton had a foreshore microbrewery.
“We are ready to go, we are finalising things but we 100 per cent see this happening,” he said.
“We are very excited to have the Packard-Hairs joins us, they have the same ideas and style about what the brewery should be, and they bring a great deal of hospitality experience to project.”
